Holiday light show shines more brightly each year

Since 1994, the Winter Wonderland Holiday Light Show on the grounds of the Cuneo Museum and Gardens has been delighting visitors young and old with its festive illuminated exhibit.

The display is open 6 to 10 p.m. daily through Saturday, Jan. 3, and even on New Year's Eve.

What started with a couple of lighted figurines purchased at the local Home Depot, has mushroomed into a drive-through showcase with more than 250 animated displays depicting themes ranging from idyllic Victorian scenes to visions of colorful storybook characters representing the holiday season.

Brainchild of Vernon Hills Director of Public Works Ed Laudenslager and crew leader Gene Schroeder, the 13-year collaboration between the village and the museum has evolved beyond anyone's expectations.

"This event has become a wonderful holiday tradition for countless families in Lake County and beyond," said Mary C. Cook, of tourism and visitor services at the museum. "We even receive inquiries from the Wisconsin area and Chicago's south suburbs, so it's obvious that this level of family entertainment for the holiday season makes for a very popular attraction."

The Winter Wonderland Holiday Light Show has become such a family tradition, with people going through time and again, that the village has created a season pass in the form of a license plate. For $25, less than the cost of three weekend entry fees, visitors can purchase the special plates from the Secretary of State's office and enjoy countless visits all winter long.

But the light show has not been immune to the growing pains that sometimes accompany new ventures. The pathway to the drive-through has been rerouted as many as four times, for example, due to ever-expanding real estate development surrounding the Cuneo Museum.

And, have you ever wondered what happened to the gigantic Frosty the Snowman that used to stand at routes 21 and 60 enticing would-be guests to the show?

That saga has entered the annals of village history, according to Lisa Fischbach, administrative assistant to the assistant village manager of Vernon Hills.

Story goes, the 30-foot-high, 80-pound Frosty was "assaulted with a deadly weapon," (punctured) on a dark and stormy night in the winter of 1998.

"He recovered and was placed back on duty the following day," Fischbach said.

But just when it was thought the Frosty ambushes were over, the benign character of everyone's youth was kidnapped Dec. 12, 1999. The, er, body was later found "stuffed inside an abandoned vehicle in the Lincolnshire area," said Vernon Hills Deputy Police Chief Bill Price, who was shift commander that night.

From then on, it seemed like all the fizzle went out of Frosty.

Fischbach put it best: "He had been accosted multiple times so it was time he was going."

In January 2004, the village made the difficult decision to retire the noble white giant.

Village workers pressed on and for their next project, converted an old barn on the Cuneo grounds into a true "Santa's Workshop."

"In the past two years we have had a couple of public works guys volunteer to be our Santa and an elf," said Fischbach, explaining the duo spend a couple of nights during the season greeting people and handing out candy canes to those in the cars that drive past.

To make the experience complete, the village recommends tuning in to a local radio station that plays Christmas music 24/7 during the drive.

"We are bringing people in to shop in Vernon Hills, to dine in Vernon Hills and this is just part of the experience," Laudenslager said.