400,000 lights and the ‘Time Warp’
Riverside’s famous Halloween light show is back for its eighth year, and it’s better than ever.
The show is a light display on the face of a suburban home. This year’s event involves 400,000 LED lights that dance and flash for the duration of seven songs blasted over loudspeakers. At least one of the tunes is new; it’s the Rocky Horror Picture Show classic, “Time Warp.” Words to the song pop up karaoke-style via two flat screens on either side of the house, facilitating the sing-along element of late-night Rocky Horror movie screenings. (Hint, hint.)
It’s so popular that there are now multiple shows a night, four nights a week—and it still packs them in, reports the Press-Enterprise.
As popular as the free show is, it’s been similarly unpopular with neighbors of the man who started it all, professional lighting designer Kevin Judd. Judd’s run-ins with his neighborhood’s homeowners association over the display on his house resulted in him moving the show to a friend’s nearby home in 2014, says the PE.
The new spot is located across the street from a park, giving viewers an ideal spot for taking in the half-hour-long shows.
Last year, in response to neighbor complaints, the showrunners worked with city officials to legitimize the show, securing permits and coordinating with the fire department (there are now pyrotechnics involved in the experience).
This year, the house is carrying on that tradition at its new location, with permits to close the streets and extra receptacles for trash.
Shows occur Thursday through Sunday until Halloween, at 7 p.m., 7:45 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.. Can’t make it out? There are plenty of videos of past shows available online, at Judd’s Youtube channel.