Last Word

The Last Word

LIGHTS ON THE LAKE PHOTO BY SCOTT SCHILD

With Debbie Dennis

SENIOR RECREATION LEADER AT ONONDAGA LAKE PARK, COORDINATOR LIGHTS ON THE LAKE.

What better way to close the year than to chat with the coordinator of one of CNY’s most popular holiday traditions? Debbie Dennis is senior recreation leader at Onondaga Lake Park and coordinator for Lights on the Lake, an event featuring more than 300 displays, 600,000 light bulbs and an average of more than 41,000 vehicle visits per year.

How long have you been with the program? This will be my 15th season coordinating Lights on the Lake. The program is in its 31st year.

Tell us a little about day-to-day operations. Lights on the Lake is essentially a year-round program, with set up beginning just after Labor Day each year. Budget, purchasing new displays, rehab, extension cords, tools and bulbs, helping to plan infrastructure improvements and scheduling are some of the main things I do as a coordinator.

What time do you get up in the morning and how do you take

your coffee? I get up at 6 a.m. during the week. Weekends are another story. Coffee with cream any time of day works for me.

Tell us about the first time you went through Lights on the

Lake… The first time I drove through Lights on the Lake was actually the first year I worked on the program. We turn the entire show on before we open to the public… It was exciting for me to finally see how everything came together after months of work. The program truly is a team effort and I know how proud we all are of our work.

What’s the electric bill like? Lights on the Lake is 100 percent LED, so converting to that over time has made a significant impact on the amount of power we use.

Do you have a favorite holiday song for Lights on the

Lake drive-thru? Sunny 102.1 is the official radio station for Lights on the Lake. They play holiday music throughout the show. One of my personal favorite holiday songs is “Little Drummer Boy.” My kids love “Dominick the Donkey.”

We have to ask (because we’re holiday movie geeks): Ever get that feeling like the moment in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation when Clark Griswold plugs in his outdoor lights and

nothing happens? Haha, no. Several of our displays are actually on timers, and we have 22 breakers that need to be turned on each day to illuminate the displays. That’s one of the reasons why we test everything out before we open to the public. But when the lights do come on and you can see how everything fits together, it’s truly a magical moment.