photo by: Submitted

A scene from "Santa's Lights," a northwest Lawrence holiday display, is shown.

Some people’s hobbies are fishing or watching sports. Others like to paint or read books. Kent Fisher’s hobby is Christmas lights.

Kent is the mastermind behind Santa’s Lights, an elaborate Christmas light display — set to music — that he and his wife, Chris Fisher, put on at their home in northwestern Lawrence.

The display comprises 13 props and about 2,000 to 3,000 lights. And, yes, it is all synced to music. Viewers can simply drive to 132 Bramble Bend Court — it is north of Sixth Street and just east of Monterey Way — find a parking spot, and tune into 96.7 FM to hear the music.

“When I was a kid, I was just enthralled, or excited, when my parents just put up roof lights on the house,” Kent said.

The Fishers have been putting up this display for the last 14 years.

“In 2010, after being married, having a home, I decided we need to start decorating, doing it right,” Kent said.

So, Kent taught himself how to make a synchronized light display. He had help, though, from a man he stumbled upon while looking at Christmas lights. Kent was driving through town looking at lights, and the person who created one particularly elaborate light display was in the yard at the time.

“I roll my window down and start talking to him, and he gives me his email address,” Kent said. “He was my original mentor that helped me build my display. And to this day, I’m using the pieces, the equipment, that he helped me build.”

Kent said that this man, Zach Stoltenberg, is now one of his best friends.

The first few years of the display were pretty basic, with pre-programmed software. Eventually, the display became more advanced as Kent learned how to sync every beat of music to specific strands of lights.

The Fishers also own the low-power radio station they use. They play songs like “Holly Jolly Christmas,” “Frosty the Snowman” and even the Rock Chalk chant.

The display has one “Mega Tree,” a 16-foot pole with lights hanging down in the shape of a tree. It also has six smaller trees, two arches, a “Joy” sign and various lights on the house and around the property.

The star of the show is an animated Santa in the window of the house. The Fishers said the Santa only takes five minutes to put up, but everyone loves it.

“We’ll be inside in the evening. We can hear little kids screaming at Santa,” Chris said.

photo by: Submitted

A scene from “Santa’s Lights,” a northwest Lawrence holiday display, is shown.

Kent, a mortgage banker by trade, has made most of the decorations in the display. He soldered the Mega Tree and the smaller trees himself, with the help of Zach.

With all the props already made, most of the work that goes into the display is getting it set up before Thanksgiving, when it begins.

“Every weekend after Halloween before Thanksgiving, we work,” Kent said. “It takes us every bit of those three weekends to get everything set up and connected.”

Once everything is set up, one of the most important parts of the process happens: making sure everything works. The Fishers said that turning the display on for the first time is an extremely nerve-wracking moment, and they always celebrate when it lights up.

The Fishers love the Christmas joy the display brings people.

“When we come home and it’s dark and the show’s already running, I do like turning the corner and seeing the bunch of cars there,” Chris said. “I just see everybody out there having a good time.”

Chris said their display has also motivated others in the neighborhood to put up lights of their own, and they have gotten many thank-you notes and gifts on their porch.

The Fishers don’t make any money from the display, either.

Kent has big plans for the future. The display that he currently uses has strings of lights that can be programmed to have any effect or color. He eventually hopes to transition to pixels, though, where he could program each individual light separately and create more intricate designs.

Kent is part of many Facebook groups for the hobby, where members share ideas and tips about how to do these displays. He gets many of his ideas for his display from these groups. He has also met and formed relationships with many others in Kansas City and Lawrence who put on similar displays to his own.

The display, located at 132 Bramble Bend Court, will run from Thanksgiving night to New Year’s Day. It is on from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the weekdays and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on the weekends. Viewers can learn more on the display’s Facebook page. One key detail to know, the Fishers said: If you want to catch Santa as part of the display, you had better get there before Christmas — for obvious reasons.