Halloween-themed light show returns to Wadsworth neighborhood for fourth year in a row

WADSWORTH — Wadsworth resident Bill Jenkins is doing light displays for the fourth year in a row to celebrate the fall and winter holidays. "I've been doing Halloween, Veterans Day and Christmas for four years now," Jenkins said. "I was looking for something to do when I wasn't working anymore." Jenkins uses xLight to program and sync up his music and light displays. Jenkins is incorporating songs from Disney's "The Lion King," Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and a song from the horror-comedy "Young Frankenstein" in his light show this year as well as others. "It's kind of a kid-friendly thing," Jenkins said. "We're trying to give something where parents can walk around with their kids and the kids can have a good time. We're trying to give something for the community to do for the holiday." Jenkins said he enjoys seeing children come up to his home in costumes when the lights are moving on display for trick-or-treating on Halloween evening. His yard and home feature multiple screens, bats, a spider and tree that all light up in sync with the music he uses for his display. "We can put pictures on and movies on. There are other things that the software can put on," Jenkins said. "The first year we started with 1,200 pixels in the matrix, some arches, and a tree. The current tree is 3,200 pixels and 32 strings (of lights)." Since the first year of the light show, Jenkins has acquired more pieces to use for his annual holiday light shows. "A lot of the time we're working on sequences for the following year," Jenkins said. He spends upward of 80 hours programming and preparing sequences and the order the lights and music appear in for each display. Jenkins has had multiple crowds and cars line up to see his light shows over the years. "We've had people laugh. Kids say things, you know. It's just trying to bring some joy," Jenkins said. "You can see this and be entirely safe!" Jenkins said that anyone is welcome to come see the event. The home is at 364 Oak St. Contact reporter Mason Savoia at (330) 957-3043 or at msavoia@medina-gazette.com.