Photo: Jeremy Jordan
An annual holiday light display is shining bright in Maple Grove.
From Thanksgiving to Christmas, a magical transformation takes place. Homes and businesses are enveloped in glittering décor, TVs and radios are overrun with nostalgic favorites, and people are in good spirits. “It’s like all the songs say, ‘It’s the most wonderful time of the year,’” Maple Grove resident Jeremy Jordan says. Growing up in Hermantown right outside of Duluth, it was an annual tradition for his family to load into the car to hunt for the most impressive holiday light displays. He always knew one day he’d have lights of his own.
Jordan and his family moved to Maple Grove in 2013. Even for his first year—and with what he describes as “regular” Christmas lights—Jordan wasn’t satisfied with standard holiday décor. He customized his setup by painstakingly swapping bulbs between strands of white and red lights to create a candy cane effect. A few years later, inspiration struck anew. “There was a family that lived on Highway 77, and they had this crazy huge tree and it was all wrapped in lights,” he says. This turned Jordan’s attention toward the ash tree that towered over his own front yard, but, “I couldn’t even come close because it’s so many lights, and it was so much work,” he says.
While his ambitions were stalled, Jordan’s interest persisted. In 2019, he was scrolling Facebook when a post stopped him in his tracks. “I saw this mega tree, and I’m like, ‘What is that? I really want to do something like that,’” he says. The further he delved into the topic, the more resources he discovered. “I stumbled upon some Facebook groups, which [used] these lights called pixels. So I dug into these lights a little bit further, and lo and behold, there was a Minnesota group of Christmas light enthusiasts.”
Light displays in this vein were traditionally DIY labors of love, but as the technology expanded and the barrier to entry lowered, the community exploded. Now, companies sell pixel lights and props, and forums are staffed 24/7 by seasoned aficionados to help troubleshoot during the Christmas season.
For his first year, Jordan ended up buying a mega tree and some smaller props along with an FM radio transmitter, and taught himself how to program the display with help from YouTube tutorials. In 2021, he debuted his display and christened it Glowing in the Grove.
Now, come the first Saturday after Thanksgiving, cars line the side of the Jordan’s home at 9673 Rosewood Lane N. from 4:30–8 p.m. weeknights and 4:30–9 p.m. weekends to watch as his display sings and dances to the music on 91.7 FM. And, on the Saturday before Christmas, Jordan and his neighbors host an open house. “We drag a fire pit out into the cul-de-sac, and we make hot chocolate and we have candy canes,” he says. “It’s just one of those things where it adds a lot of joy. We love it, [and] that’s why we continue to do it.”
Glowing in the Grove
Facebook: Glowing in the Grove
