Travelers from all over donate to Quincy holiday light fund
Courtesy photo Santa hopped a freight in one of the animated holiday lighting displays along I-90 near Quincy. A fundraising drive is underway to refurbish the displays.
QUINCY — A GoFundMe account to raise money to refurbish the holiday lights displayed each year along Interstate 90 near Quincy may generate enough money to finish, or almost finish, the project this year, rather than the two years originally expected.
The “I-90 Holiday Light” project has raised about $7,600 as of Thursday – and that’s without the anonymous $5,000 donation, said Lisa Karstetter, one of the organizers. Owners of Anco Fabrication, Moses Lake, have volunteered to do the required welding.
Organizers of the fundraising effort had considered asking Quincy’s business community to donate to upgrade the light display, but Karstetter said they decided it would be most effective as a grassroots campaign.
And people have donated, not just from Quincy but from throughout the state, Karstetter said. Donations have come from Seattle, Spokane and Wenatchee, from people who have made the trip on I-90 at Thanksgiving and Christmas, as well as from residents of the Columbia Basin.
Donations have ranged from $10 to $200 (including one for $69). “Never gets old driving by all of the displays every year,” wrote Eugene Reed. “It brings joy and a smile,” wrote Gigi Lowry. “The lights have become one of my favorite sights during the holiday season,” wrote Sandy Benedetti.
“We are really grateful for all the support,” Karstetter said. “People have been really responsive. It’s been really great.”
The lights are a 30-year tradition in the Quincy area, 22 animated holiday scenes along a 10-mile stretch of I-90. “Each fall, after the irrigation water is turned off, farmers move their (irrigation) pivots and park them along the freeway, so they can provide electricity to power (the) displays,” Karstetter wrote on the GoFundMe page. The farmers pay the electrical bills.
The project is directed through AgFARMation, which was formed in the early 2000s to spearhead fundraising. All proceeds will go to refurbishing the displays.
The displays range from the Holy Family to Santa and his reindeer – and Santa on a rocket. There are flickering candles, kids on sleds, even Mr. Potato Head.
But they’ve been displayed every Christmas for nearly 30 years, and 30 years is lot of winter nights. They’re built on metal frames, and all the frames need repairs to a greater or lesser degree. The existing light strings will get new LED bulbs, which are brighter and more energy-efficient.
Estimated cost is $700 per display. That will allow volunteers “to convert old strands to LED and re-weld the displays to make them strong enough for transport and to withstand the winds and adverse weather we get in December,” Karstetter wrote.
Donations are still being accepted and can be made on the GoFundMe page.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@columbiabasinherald.com.
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