Popular home Christmas light display will be moved after neighbor complaints

It has been a holiday tradition in Old Bridge for 15 years – the Winter Wonderlights Spectacular light show put on by the Apruzzi family.

News 12 Staff

Oct 17, 2019, 12:09 AM

Updated 1,653 days ago

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It has been a holiday tradition in Old Bridge for 15 years – the Winter Wonderlights Spectacular light show put on by the Apruzzi family.
But that display will have to be moved to a new location this holiday season after some backlash from neighbors over the past two years.
Last year, the display on the Apruzzi family’s home featured 200,000 light bulbs and thousands of spectators – some from as far away as Germany. But there will be no lights on the Apruzzi family’s home this year.
“Just dealing with the aggravation of the neighbors,” says Tom Apruzzi. “We had neighbors that harassed us 12 months out of the year.”
The neighbors complained about the large crowds. And last year, Old Bridge officials threatened to charge the family $2,000 a day for police patrols.
But now thanks to a deal with the East Brunswick Council, the Winter Wonderlights Spectacular will be held at the Middlesex County Fairgrounds.
“There’s going to be approximately 1 million lights now. There’s going to be over 200,000 RBG pixels,” Apruzzi says. “There's going to be Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus walking around doing photo opportunities for free.”
The family says that the display will be 10 times bigger this year and there will be food vendors and light displays for all faiths.
But there will be a $7 entrance fee for adults this year – something there hasn’t been before. The family had always hosted the show out of their own pocket.
One thing that won’t change is that spectators can still donate money to the nonprofit organization Homes for Troops – something Apruzzi has done in previous years.
The display is open to the public every night from Nov. 30 until Dec. 29.


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