Scottland Lights show to benefit Fire Dept.

As the leaves have mostly fallen from the trees and the snow has already begun to take their places on the branches, many who dread the long winter months are cheered by the holiday festivities taking place over the coming weeks.

In Groton, one of those holiday delights is Scottland Lights — an amazing holiday light show synchronized with music at the home of John and Beth Underwood Scott at 411 Peru Rd. (tinyurl.com/2gdlftgo).

Whether you are local to the area or just traveling through, the joy of hearing the Christmas music that syncs with the lights so perfectly is a Groton experience that has been in place since 2008 and just keeps getting bigger and better every year.

All you need is time and a vehicle with a car radio tuned in to 89.7 on the FM dial to have an evening of delightful entertainment, courtesy of John and Beth.

Beth is a Groton native, but John grew up on Staten Island, New York. When the two met in 2001, it did not take long for their mutual love for one another and for Christmas to result in their wedding on Christmas Eve, 2002.

John was born with glaucoma and eventually developed cataracts. Unfortunately, he suffered a retinal detachment as a result of cataract surgery, rendering him legally blind. Nonetheless, with his background in electronics and the help of his son, Lawrence, and Beth to design the sets, the family has delighted the community over and over again.

This year, the Scotts are excited to have added toy soldiers on the archway over the driveway, all-new triple arches and candles on the fence and a candy cane pathway to a gingerbread house. With thanks to their friend, Todd Edwards, from Wizard of Wire in Pennsylvania, they also added three wise men to their nativity scene.

John currently uses a Falcon pixel control board with a Raspberry Pi computer, allowing him to program the lights and music together via DC current and wireless internet.

A very special addition, added in 2019, is a donation box on the right side of their driveway, which was built by their daughter, Tara. It is not to benefit the Scotts in any way but to give back to the community.

“We collected $822 for the Groton Food Pantry last year,” John said. “This year all donations will go to the Groton Fire Department [GFD]. I also had some Scottland Lights T-shirts made that will be for sale and on display near the donation box. They cost me $15, so I will sell them at $25 and donate $10 from each to the GFD.”

GFD Chief Eric DeForrest said he was approached by John this past June, saying that he would like to team up with the GFD to benefit from his light show.

“I was truly honored that he picked us and was willing to have us as the primary focal point for this year’s light show,” DeForrest said. “I think this is a great opportunity for the fire department to be recognized for the hard work that our volunteers put into our community. Right now, we have around 35 active members. John mentioned that he was a big fan of the GFD and wanted an opportunity to show it. I think this is the perfect opportunity for that!”

DeForrest recalled his June conversation with John, mentioning that John had told him how much he loves doing the light show for the community and that John specifically spoke about seeing all the kids dancing and smiling in front of his house — making it worth all the effort he puts in.

Most Christmas songs are about 3 minutes long, and on average, it takes John about 40 to 60 hours per song to program the lights to sync with them. The show lasts approximately 45 minutes, so that’s a lot of programming hours!

“One of my goals when joining the GFD was to work with our youth to put as many smiles on as we can,” DeForrest said. “Given that John and I were aligned on making our community’s kids smile, any funds that the GFD receives from this amazing fundraiser will go toward our free kids camp to build it bigger and better. Our 2022 kids camp had over 100 participants ranging from 4 to 12 years old — our highest year yet! To have an opportunity to have some extra funding to help is very exciting.”

DeForrest explained a bit about the three-day firefighter camp that typically takes place every July, with activities such as learning ropes and knots that firefighters use, tours and rides on the fire trucks, water bucket brigade and water ball, wherein two teams of kids get to use the fire hoses to spray water at basketballs hanging from a cable to move the ball to the opposite end, and whoever gets there first wins.

“Kids who come to camp get to learn about what it’s like to be a firefighter, fire safety and how to work as a team,” DeForrest said. “We treat them to snacks nightly and always end the last night with a big surprise. We have had a helicopter come, airport fire rescue truck and a ladder truck. We try to change things up to keep it fresh and exciting.”

DeForrest added that participant numbers increase each year, and he feels that the program is very important to our community and to the kids, as the volunteers use their time to have fun and tie in learning at the same time.

“Every night is geared around making sure the kids are as wet as possible when they go home,” DeForrest said with a smile. “Many nights we end with the fire trucks spraying water on the kids and them running through it. Seeing the smiling faces and hearing the nonstop laughter at the end of each night lets the GFD know that we have succeeded in another fun night at camp.”

DeForrest and the Scotts all agree that having the GFD as the focus of the Scottland Lights fundraiser will be a great partnership.

To experience the incredible Scottland Lights show, pull your vehicle off to the side of the road, tune your car radio in to 89.7 on the FM dial, relax and enjoy, but please don’t block any driveways. The show will begin running daily the day after Thanksgiving beginning at 5 p.m. and looping until 10:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Groton on the Inside appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Submit story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com or text or call Linda at (607) 227-4922.

In brief:

Groton Community Choir performances

Under the direction of Ginny Casey, the Groton Community Choir will present its 72nd musical cantata, “Glorious Light of Christmas Bright Dawn of Redeeming Grace,” created by Jason Cox, Lee Black, Marty Hamby and Dale Mathews and arranged and orchestrated by Marty Hamby.

This popular group of singers will have four performances: Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. at Groton Community Church, 204 E. Cortland St., Groton; Dec. 3 at 1 p.m. at Brooktondale Baptist Church, 2311 Slaterville Rd., Ithaca, and at 7 p.m. at Dryden Baptist Church, 138 Virgil Rd., Dryden; and Dec. 4 at 3 p.m. at Groton Assembly of God, 701 S. Main St., Groton. Crown City Brass will also perform.

All locations are handicapped accessible. Light refreshments will follow each performance. There is no charge for the concerts, but freewill donations will be gratefully accepted to assist the choir in purchasing music for future performances.

Change in service time

Beginning Nov. 27, Groton Assembly of God, 701 S. Main St., will switch its service time to 10 a.m. This is a change from its previous offering of two separate services and will be in place for the foreseeable future, with the exception of Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, when services will be held at 11 a.m. to accommodate early-morning family celebrations.

Poinsettia fundraiser

Bad Apple Farm is sponsoring a fundraiser for Groton Youth Wrestling — selling gorgeous, full-bloom poinsettias in 6.5-inch pots with decorative foil covers. Choose from red, white or pink at a cost of $15 per plant. Brighten up your home or business for the holidays! These make great gifts and you’ll be supporting our young, local athletes.

To order, visit tinyurl.com/2qlu4v5h. Please choose either pickup or delivery in the shipping options. (Shipping is not an option due to the fragility of the plants.) If you choose delivery, a charge will be added automatically.

You can have poinsettias delivered to your home or to someone else. Deliveries will be made Dec. 8. They will be available for pickup Dec. 7 at the Groton High School gym entrance, 400 Peru Rd. Please plan to stop in the gym and watch our varsity wrestlers’ home meet that evening!