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For Renton nothing less than 50,000 lights | Ivar's Clam Lights

Ryan Fleming of Fleming
Adam McFadden, Renton Reporter
Ryan Fleming of Fleming's Holiday Lighting checks a bulb on the Holiday Hamburger display Tuesday at Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park during a walkthrough of the Ivar's Clam Lights with City of Renton employees.

By ADAM MCFADDEN
Renton Reporter Staff Writer
November 28, 2012 · 6:35 PM

 

Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park will undergo quite a change Friday when the City of Renton Clam Lights are flipped on.

But what exactly goes into making this show come together?

Fleming’s Holiday Lighting put up the 50,000 lights. The company has 20 employees working for about three and a half days, with a total of 700 man hours, to install the lights.

The City of Renton and Ivar’s both pay for the contract with Fleming’s.

New last year was Candy Cane Lane - about 50 light posts decorated as candy canes.

“We wanted to create a little bit more of an atmosphere,” said Ryan Fleming, owner of Fleming’s Holiday Lighting.

Fleming’s has done the Coulon lights for the past three years.

“With the use of LEDs the power consumption went way down,” Fleming said. “We had a lot more power to work with.”

The project switched to the LEDs in 2010. In addition to Candy Cane Lane, Fleming’s also extended the lighting to the extreme north end of the park last year.

Fleming said this project is fairly straightforward since workers have a flexible timeline to work with, unlike other projects like the inside of Bellevue Square, where the team had to put up all of the lighting in a single night.

In addition to Candy Cane Lane, check out the Clam Lights display sponsored by Ivars, the Santa and Reindeer display, the Holiday Hamburger display sponsored by Kidd Valley and the Candy Cane Arch.

Puget Sound Energy sponsors the opening night entertainment with a concert featuring Erwilian group and horse-drawn carriage rides for kids.

Events start at 6:15 p.m. Friday, with the official lighting by Mayor Denis Law at 7 p.m. The lights run nightly until 9 p.m. through Jan. 1.

Contact Renton Reporter Staff Writer Adam McFadden at amcfadden@rentonreporter.com or 425-255-3484.

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