Now a sight to behold, with 45,000 lights brightening up the dark December night sky, Derek Durkac said his seasonal yard and light display started out small 20 years ago with some lights on his eavestrough and tree, and a few other decorations.
The light display was originally something fun to do with his kids when they were young, but now it’s taken on a life of its own, with Durkac pretty much becoming Sudbury’s Clark Griswold.
“Every year, I added more lights,” said Durkac, who increased the light count on his display by 10,000 between last year and this year.
Originally located in New Sudbury, Durkac moved to the Donovan area three years ago, and with a bigger yard, he used that as an opportunity to add to his light display, which he runs on December weekends until Christmas.
A master of recycling and DIY, Durkac uses materials such as plastic water bottles to create icicle lights, and also picks up discarded Christmas decorations on the side of the road and refurbishes them for his own use.
He also creates his own cutouts, and as a Star Wars fan, he has a special affinity for creating cutouts of characters from that franchise. “All my Star Wars stuff I love, but everything that's out there, I love doing it,” Durkac said.
Starting work on the display in September to take advantage of better weather, Durkac said he spends “thousands and thousands of hours” putting it together each fall.
“A lot of people that don't see behind the scenes of it,” he said. “There’s a lot of structures that hold everything up. Because there's a lot of wind and we get a lot of snow, everything's raised up off the ground. All my cut outs are (supported) with two-by-fours into the ground so that people can’t steal the stuff because everything is screwed in.”
People just love seeing the display, Durkac said.
“The people that come and see my display every year, they notice the new items in this year’s display and compare them from last year,” he said.
“I've had kids come when they were small, and now they're teenagers or older, and they just love the display, and they remember it as a child, and they can … see the new stuff in the display as well.”
While it sounds like the light display is a labour of love for Durkac, it has a serious purpose as well.
For more than a decade, Durkac has collected cash and food donations for the Edgar Burton Christmas Food Drive, which supports the Sudbury Food Bank.
Last year he collected nearly $1,700 in cash and 1,765 food items, which he packs into banana boxes, and are then picked up by members of the military who donate their time to the food drive.
Every year, family members of the late Edgar Burton pay a visit to Durkac’s light display, including his widow, Sharon Burton. “She always comes with the grandchildren and just loves it, and is just so grateful for everything,” Durkac said. “I think it's a great cause.”
If you’d like to take in Durkac’s light display, he’s located at 48 Severn St. (in the Donovan/Cambrian Heights area, off of Burton Avenue).
It’s basically impossible to miss it if you’re on the right street when the lights are on, which occurs this month from 6-9 p.m. from Friday to Sunday, until Dec. 25.
There are also special appearances from Santa Claus from 7-9 p.m. Friday, Dec. 8, Sunday, Dec. 10, Saturday, Dec. 16, Sunday, Dec. 17, Friday, Dec. 22 and Saturday, Dec. 23. The Sudbury Grinch appears on Dec. 8, 16 and 23.
Visitors are asked to bring a donation of non-perishable food or cash for the food drive, if possible.
Learn more on the Durkac’s Facebook page.
Heidi Ulrichsen is a journalist with Sudbury.com.
