INDIANAPOLIS — Thousands of Christmas lights were inspected Tuesday at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in preparation for their big moment at the Downtown Indy, Inc. Circle of Lights presented by IBEW 481.
We're 45 days away from the annual tradition on Monument Circle, and volunteers are getting ready to make sure the show goes off without a hitch the day after Thanksgiving.
At the fairgrounds, electricians were doing the final checks Tuesday on the bulbs and strings for the big day next month. Some of them say it's just a special time of year to get this done.
"It's the start of the holiday season for us and for the city. We're happy to do it. We've been doing it since 1962," Blake Andrews with IBEW 481 said.
More than 4,000 bulbs will light up the Soldiers & Sailors Monument during the holiday season.
"Fifty-two different stringers that we put up. There are 92 lamps on each one of those stringers, a total of 4,784 lamps that they test out and make sure that they work," Andrews said.
It's tedious work.
"They come in, they jump in, they all know what they're doing," Andrews said.
Dave Colcazier said he's been volunteering for Circle of Lights for about 45 years.
"Mostly camaraderie and the kids. You know, we do this for the kids," he said.
The lights put Hoosiers in the holiday spirit, no matter what it takes.
"Yeah, they got to go up," Colcazier said.
Once all the strings and lights have been checked and placed into 52 barrels at the fairgrounds, they'll be transferred to a nearby storage facility until they're hung up on Monument Circle on Nov. 16.
Watch the Christmas tradition live on Channel 13 and on WTHR.com or WTHR+ at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 29.