"Christmas on Comstock," located in the 3600 block of East Comstock Drive, won the $50,000 grand prize during Monday night's episode of ABC's "The Great Christmas Light Fight." The weekly show typically pits holiday-lights experts from across America, who compete by decorating their homes to the extreme.
During Monday night's episode, Christmas on Comstock edged out "Jeter Bend" from Celebration, Fla., and "Waikele Christmas Light," from Waipahu, Hawaii. The Gilbert neighborhood was the first in the Valley to win an episode of the show, which is in the midst of its third season.
How it happened
Brian McNamara, who organized the Gilbert display, said the show's producers approached him in early August about participating after they saw a drone video he posted on YouTube of last year's light display.
Sixty-eight neighbors -- half of them kids -- spread across 13 houses and started building the display Sept. 17, and finished it exactly one month later. ABC crews spent five days filming in Gilbert and relied on handy-cam footage to fill out the rest.
The end result was a display consisting of more than 500 circuits, 110,000 lights, 285 strobe lights, and over 50,000 feet of wire. The roughly 10-minute display show is set to four songs, which visitors can listen to on 93.9 FM as they drive or walk through.
"We all just sort of helped each other out," McNamara said. "We had to up our game for the TV show."
The group was announced as the winners by co-host Carter Oosterhouse on Nov. 1. They signed confidentiality agreements that made them keep the results a secret.
On Monday, the display's organizers wheeled a projector, a 10-foot screen, heaters and speakers into the street so the entire block could watch the show together. Each house received identical trophies, which were modeled after Christmas-light bulbs.
"We were really pumped," McNamara said. "It's a ton of work to put it together. ... It meant a lot to the neighborhood."
Starting a tradition
McNamara, who is a finance and accounting analyst, said he first started doing Christmas-lights displays at his home in the San Tan Valley area in 2005. He taught himself how to do it through YouTube and started with a display of 5,000 lights and 16 circuits.
He's kept the tradition going since he moved to Gilbert five years ago, growing the display from just his house to the entire neighborhood. He said he and his neighbors pay out of pocket for the display, which typically bumps his electricity bill up by about $50 in the month of December.
He said the meaning of the display outweighs the cost, especially for children.
"It's the traditions that people remember, not the gifts," he said. "The memories that last forever are greater than gifts."
McNamara said the $50,000 award will be split evenly among the 13 families. His family is going to donate a portion of their winnings to Make-a-Wish Arizona.
Christmas on Comstock also accepts donations, which are given to Make-a-Wish Arizona as well.
"Our goal is to be able to grant one wish to a local Arizona kid," McNamara said. "So far, we're well on track."
When asked how he will top the display next year, McNamara said that right now, all he can think about is sleep. But once the holidays are over, the next step is the easiest.
"It comes down a lot faster than the time it takes to put it up," he said. "It goes quick."
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