Every Christmas PentictonNow saddles up our fuel-efficient vehicle and engages on a relentless search for the most spectacularly decorated homes in the Penticton area.
This year, we did something different. We started in Okanagan Falls. Indeed, we enlisted the aid of an OK Falls accomplice, who put the word out on social media channels. Thanks Jillian J!
Ultimately, we found three homes that in our estimation go way beyond the norm. And two of them -- one at the St. Andrews By The Lake golf course and the other three kilometers north of downtown OK Falls along Eastside Road -- really push the geographic boundaries of the community.
Our journey begins on the road to White Lake in the high country, where the evening temperatures are that much colder and the snow that much deeper.
The Blythe Family
133 St. Andrews Drive
A few kilometers along White Lake Road you come to the primary entrance of the St. Andrews By The Lake golf course, obviously a little quieter in December. Drive a bit further and you'll hit the second entrance. Take it and you'll see the home of the Blythe family almost immediately.
It sits on a slope and looks very impressive from a distance, particularly with a half-foot of snow all around.
This is the first year the Blythes have taken it to this level.
"We ramped it up this year a fair amount," admitted dad David. "We've always been into the decorations because we have little kids and it's always been something my wife and I like to do. But this year, we decorated everything we could possibly decorate."
It took the Blythes 19 days to set it all out from begining to end, though the pace of the work on the half-acre property was downright leisurely.
"It's a passion for Christmas and our love for our kids and everything Christmas means to them," said Blythe in explaining why they did it.
But there were a couple other reasons too. The first was a competition of sorts in the St. Andrews community to stir up public engagement post-COVID.
"There are no medals," said David of his family's performance in the competition, adding, "We're definitely up there though."
The second is the couple living downstairs.
"My father-in-law and mother-in-law live downstairs now," said David. "And he's newly retired, so this is his new hobby. Every time he goes to Costco, he comes back with something to do with Christmas. Even if it's summertime."
Jodi Leduc and Yvonne Lyver
#18 - 1302 Cedar Street
Also off the beaten path is the home of Jodi Leduc and Yvonne Lyver. It’s in Okanagan Falls proper, but it's a long way down Cedar Street, past Okanagan Falls Elementary School where the traffic is light.
Still, on the night we were there so were a bunch of nearby residents, stopping to bathe in the glow and unabashedly telling us how wonderful it was.
"We've been here four years now," said Leduc. "It was my dad's place. He was very much into Christmas as well and then I took it over and this is what we do every year."
According to Leduc, new decorations arrive regularly and the arrangement changes up each Christmas.
"It usually takes a couple of days to get it out," she laughed, "and another day to get the electric to it all."
But Halloween at the Leduc and Lyver homestead is apparently even more spectacular.
"It's bigger than our Christmas," said Leduc. "My wife is very much into Halloween. We do a big display and this year we got together with Helping Hand (a charitable organization in OK Falls) and put out two containers for non-perishables and collected money as well."
When asked why they do it, Leduc was all about reactions.
"Because people love it," she said. "Really and truly it brings joy into their lives. Even when we're doing Halloween, people are driving by and asking if we're doing Christmas again."
Lake City Lights
103 Devon Drive
We've saved the best for last. And when we say "the best," that's no slight against the homes above. It's just that this is clearly one of the most stunning efforts in the entire South Okanagan.
So stunning that it has a name: "Lake City Lights."
It all happens at the almost-waterfront home of Josh and Jackie Heinrich at 103 Devon Drive, near the northern tip of Okanagan Falls on the eastern side of Skaha Lake.
Both Josh and Jackie are local teachers, and together with kids Bree and Reid, they made the move from the Wiltse neighbourhood of Penticton to OK Falls two years ago.
That's when they kicked their already-significant affinity for outdoor Christmas décor to new heights.
"We've lived here for two years," said Jackie, who, like all four Heinrichs, dressed in their finest Christmas attire for PentictonNow's visit. "Our location in Penticton was in the middle of a cul-sac on a pie-shaped lot. We were known for our lights, but we couldn’t do anything like this."
Today, when you visit 103 Devon, you don’t merely drive by. You park, preferably up the street 50 meters or so by the community mailbox, and get out and explore.
You can stand on the perimeter, but most walk through the pathways between the lights and decorations to get close-up looks. And be prepared to hang out for awhile. The place is loaded with stuff to see, thankfully organized tastefully where it doesn't look the least bit messy.
It's techy too. For starters, Josh spent much of the off-season teaching himself the complicated game of synchronized music and lights. Then he installed 6,000-plus "pixels" (modern lights that can sync with music, change colours, fade in and out, etc) along with 5,000-plus "regular lights.
The resulting show is wild.
Even more so if you whip out your phone and head to the Lake City Lights website. That’s right -- it has its own web presence, where you can read a little about it, check out the tunes, and even choose which one comes next from the 55 in the playlist, all while watching miniature snowmen and Christmas trees cascade down the screen.
"To put up the decorations, we started at the beginning of November," said Josh. "We worked on it seven days a week, and it took a month. I'd put on a headlamp and come out in the dark after work. And on the weekends all four of us would be out here ten hours a day."
And that left us with one question: Why?
"I really like it when our neighbours come by, even in the summertime, and say, 'Oh we can’t wait for your Christmas display this year," said Josh. "I'm mowing my lawn and it’s August and we're talking about the display."
"And we've heard some really touching stories," added Jackie. "Like our neighbor down the road who was going through chemotherapy last year, and she mentioned she loved coming by here every day. That it brought a smile to her face."
Josh told us about the time he walked out to meet a group at the end of his driveway, only to see they were all crying. He asked if they were okay.
"And they shared with me that their mom had passed away two days prior and that Christmas was her favourite holiday and she loved decorating. And they said their mom would have absolutely loved this.
"They told me it was the first time in two days they'd been even remotely happy.
"That makes it all worthwhile."
