Holiday light show planned for Long Island Sports Park
A holiday light show is planned for Calverton this holiday season.
Bold Broadcasting, a media company based in East Hampton, is proposing a drive-through holiday light show, similar to those held at Smith Point County Park and Jones Beach.
“Essentially, it will bring people from all over Long Island to the East End during our slower months,” Bold Broadcasting CEO Matt Glaser said at Thursday’s Town Board work session. “Hopefully, [it will] bring some business on Main Street who could definitely use the help during the slower months.”
It would take place at the Long Island Sports Park off Edwards Avenue, and would run from the week before Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve.
The show features about a mile and a half of 60 large holiday displays, some as large as 100-feet wide and 30-feet high. Mr. Glaser said it takes about five to seven minutes to drive through.
“It’s a family-friendly event,” Mr. Glaser said.
The Riverhead Town Board will vote Tuesday on a resolution to approve the light show.
Board members raised concerns regarding safety and emergency access routes. Councilwoman Jodi Giglio wasn’t confident that emergency responders could easily access the area in an emergency, but Mr. Glaser said the likelihood of a fire was highly unlikely and that road is wide enough for two vehicles.
“These displays are all LED; they’re not high wattage. There’s never been any incidents with this company that we work with,” Mr. Glaser said. “If there was a fire we would usher the vehicles through, stop vehicles from entering the property and we could use the parking lot to turn vehicles around that are on the waiting line.”
The Riverhead Fire Marshal will inspect the site and said that fire extinguishers on site would be a requirement.
The show would be open Fridays and Saturdays from 5 to 11 p.m., and Sundays from 5 to 9 p.m. in November. Then, in December, Thursdays are added on to the schedule from 5 to 9 p.m.
The plans include about 1,500 feet of backup space if the event experiences too much congestion, and Mr. Glaser added that if it started to disrupt traffic on Edwards Avenue, cars would be turned away. No tents or vendors are going to be invited to the light show. He also agreed to assume the cost of police intervention should the traffic start disrupting other cars on Edwards Avenue.
He did not originally plan on having any bathroom facilities because no one should be getting out of vehicles. Supervisor Laura Jens-Smith said that if people are coming from across Long Island and may have long drives, porta potties are a necessity.
The site would be staffed with private employees to sell tickets and direct traffic. Busses are not welcome, only passenger vehicles are permitted, Mr. Glaser said.
“I think it’s wonderful,” Ms. Jens-Smith said. “I think we need family entertainment here and it’s a good bonus for the area.”
Entrance fees are $23 per car online and $25 at the door.
“I hope this can become a tradition for Riverhead and everyone can look forward to coming out here for the holidays,” Mr. Glaser said.
Photo credit: Bold Broadcasting LLC.
