Red Bird Acres Christmas Lights is back for second year

Red Bird Acres Christmas Lights, Clarkesville’s holiday light show, is back for its second year. Opening Thanksgiving, the event will run from dusk to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday until Christmas. There’s no fee to enter and parking is free.

The light show, located at 1164 E Glade Creek Road, is a walkthrough display of festive lights. The event is a labor of love for a family of six, according to Now Habersham.

“There are children who don’t get to experience beautiful decorations or lights at Christmas,” Christy Jones told the outlet. “For whatever reason — poverty or difficult family life — this is a way to give them what they so deserve to have. That, above all, would be the reason I do it.”

Christy and her husband Chris are crafting this year’s display alongside their four children, who range from ages 9 to 22.

“Sometimes I get so frustrated at all the work and when I do, I remember the kids,” Chris told Now Habersham. “If we can bring that magical experience to just one child, we’ve done what we set out to do.”

This year, Red Bird Acres Christmas Lights will have a few surprises for return visitors familiar with last year’s displays — as well as some fan favorites. Most notably, the display trail has grown by nearly 43%.

It’s a family-led attraction that has other families at heart, according to Chris.

“There was this little girl,” Chris told Now Habersham, thinking back on last year’s event. “I’ll never forget her voice. She’d walk about 10 to 15 feet. Her face full of joy. She would say, ‘It’s a Christmas Miracle.’ That is what keeps me working when I start to feel I can’t do it.”