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MARIETTA, Ga. — Cars steadily drove through the campus of Life University, a school of about 2400 students in Marietta. Drivers pumped the brakes to stop and see bears, elves, snowflakes, a dragon and Santa Claus himself. Dozens of trees dot the landscape, with nutcrackers standing behind them. More than a million lights go into Lights of Life, according to organizer Jared Franklin.
“I’m the guy who puts up all the lights,” Franklin said. “We’re talking over a million. A lot of these displays are over 40 years old. They’re all super big, super heavy. It’s very challenging. It takes six to eight of us two months to put this whole light show up.”
Franklin starts stringing up lights in September. He and his father took over managing the display a few years ago.
“We do a petting zoo, train ride, funnel cakes, they have their amusement rides,” Franklin said. “But the lights are the main focus out here. I just enjoy making people happy with the lights. It’s like taking a step back in time, an old-school light show.”
Jan O’Connell drove from Florida to take in the lights. She remembered coming to Lights of Life back in the 1980s. She was able to bring five generations of her family to see the show this year.
“We lived here back in 1983 and raised our children here,” O’Connell said. “We came to Life College when they first started the lights. Family is the highlight of our lives, and we enjoy seeing our kids so much, especially at the holiday time; it’s so wonderful.”
Dr. Marc Schneider, vice president of operations at Life University, said the light show has put the small college and the city of Marietta on the map. Around 16,000 cars drove through Lights of Life last year, he said, and came from all over the country.
“This is a time where people come together,” Schneider said. “Our credo is to give, love, do and serve out of one’s own abundance without expectation of anything in return. That’s an incredible feeling to be involved with. It’s our payback to the community for having us and supporting us.”
Schneider said most of the money made goes toward operational costs, but some students are able to benefit from scholarships due to money raised by the light display. Lights of Life runs through December 31.
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