KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Although many business’s lights have gone dark during the coronavirus pandemic, a growing movement is lighting up neighborhoods and bringing joy back to the community.
Christmas lights are making a comeback in March.
The idea is that twinkling, colorful lights will lift the spirits of the community during a time of uncertainty and unease. It also gives people something to do while social distancing: admiring the lights from the safety of a vehicle.
In Kansas City, the 5600 and 5700 Block of Amoret Avenue is aglow with patriotic colors. Chance Douglas with Spark Lighting, a residential and commercial holiday light business, said the lights are making a big difference to the homeowners that live nearby.
“I actually had someone stop me today and tell me how happy they were that they were on, and one lady told me she drives by every morning just on her commute to work, and she said this morning, when she saw all the red, white and blue, it kind of made her tear up a bit,” Douglas said.
The growing trend appears to have started, or at least made viral, through a tweet by a Wisconsin broadcaster. He suggested the idea for the purpose of having a new social distancing activity.
While the movement has received mixed feelings on social media, thousands of people across the country have supported the idea and put it into motion.
“I think it’s wonderful,” neighbor Larry Bye said. “We need something to lift the country up. Red, white and blue. Be strong.”
“For some reason, lights seem to bring people together and it shows we can all work together, support one another and support the country,” Douglas said. “Everyone having the same lights, the red, white and blue lights in particular, I think really helps bring people together and make people feel as one.”
