Some of the wackiest, tackiest Christmas lights in town will shine in all their electric glory during the Wacky Tacky Christmas Lights Tour fundraiser for Fresh Air Family this month.
The two-hour bus tours on Dec. 13, 15, 20 and 22 take riders on a guided excursion of the best of the area’s tackiest themed holiday displays – think Santa’s Trailer Park, Dueling Neighbors, Star Wars Christmas, Hanukkah House, the Auburn House and two new houses, Saddle Up Santa and Xmas on a Limb. There will be about a dozen large displays and several smaller ones on view.
“The magic of it is you sit on the bus and we drive,” said Verna Gates, Fresh Air Family’s founder and executive director, noting that families, sororities and Sunday school groups are among those who’ve taken the tour.
The tour, now in its 13th year, is festive, with a lot of laughs, and riders really get into the spirit of the occasion by wearing their tackiest holiday sweaters and outfits. It’s a large event, with nine buses running on tour nights and about 1,500 people expected to participate over the four evenings, Gates said.
The buses will make a stop at Soho Social in Homewood about halfway through the tour, where riders can take a short break and order hot cocoa and other drinks, Gates said.
Buses, provided by Rare Transportation, will run every 15 minutes from 6 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., starting at Cahaba Brewing Company.
Tickets are $45 each and are available online at freshairfamily.org/wacky-tacky. Buses are available for private group tours.
Fresh Air Family is a nonprofit that offers about 400 outdoor activities to reach more than 10,000 people. Among the programs are family outings, summer and holiday camps, school field trips, hiking, canoeing, birding, star gazing, fossil hunting and orienteering.
Last year’s event raised close to $25,000 in financial aid awarded to more than 150 children who attended camp. In the past three years, Fresh Air Family has awarded more than $100,000 in scholarships to children who otherwise wouldn’t be able to participate.
—Anne Ruisi
