Those receiving certificates for first place were Alan Falkner, who won the adult residential category; Mat Smith, 15, who garnered the youth residential category (16 and under); and the Holiday Inn for the commercial category.
Falkner, a Burbank resident for 14 years, said it still hadn’t sunk in yet that he won first place.
“I’ve entered a few times, but this is the first time I’ve won — wow!” he said.
Falkner has been creating lighting design for play productions since he was in middle school and recently worked on professional productions, he said. He started decorating his home for the holidays when he lived in Northridge during the 1980s.
More than 19,500 multicolor and white lights cover the bushes, trees and roof of his Burbank home, all of them connected to more than 200 individually controlled channels, he said. More than a mile of power cable and snowflakes light up with wire-framed Christmas trees and candy canes.
A message board on the side of the house has three rotating Bible passages from Luke — “Glory to God,” “Peace on Earth” and “Goodwill Toward Men.”
The entire light show is synced to eight holiday carols, and they are broadcast over an FM channel so spectators can tune in on their radio and listen without rolling down the car windows, Falkner said.
Decorating his home for the holidays gives him a sense of pride, he said.
“It’s a source of validation and recognition to see if anyone else noticed it, and a sense of pride too,” he said. “I’m proud of the display. It’s taken many years to build it up to what it is now.”
Falkner works at a theatrical lighting manufacturer and has recycled and implemented the business’ discarded equipment in his design, he said.
