New Jersey's largest drive-thru holiday light show is in East Brunswick
East Brunswick has always prided itself on being smack in the center of New Jersey – not too far east, or too far west, not too far north or too far south. So, it seems just right that the largest drive-thru holiday light show in the state has its home here.
For four weeks, nearly 2 million lights blink, twinkle and shine every night in sync with holiday songs at Winter WonderLights.
It can make any Grinch’s small heart grow three sizes.
Located at the Middlesex County Fairgrounds at 655 Cranbury Road, Winter WonderLights takes attendees on a journey through giant displays of holiday-themed magic. There are light tunnels, decorated Christmas trees and celebrations of all the winter holidays − Christmas, Hanukkah, Diwali and Kwanzaa.
Winter WonderLights organizers Roger and Beata Aubuchon and Tom and Kris Apruzzi hope to bring happiness to the community with their display.
"We want families to be brought together to have joy and happiness in their life," Roger Aubuchon said. "It's become a tradition for a lot of families to come every year."
Creating over-the-top Christmas light shows has been a passion and tradition for Roger Aubuchon and Tom Apruzzi for more than two decades. Each had decorated their own homes, Aubuchon in Georgia and Apruzzi in Old Bridge, for years. And each year, both had worked to top their own efforts. Aubuchon loved working with lights so much, he even gave up his day job to make it a full-time gig, selling and programming lights to others.
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Sharing their love of lights, Aubuchon, who still lived down south, came north to the Garden State in 2016 to create a new holiday light display with Apruzzi at his home. The two had met through one of Aubuchon's holiday light clients.
Apruzzi's Old Bridge home had already been a contender on ABC's "Great Christmas Light Fight" in 2014 and well-known for its elaborate annual show. He wanted more and Aubuchon was happy to help.
The two became fast friends and when Aubuchon later decided to move north permanently, he took a job with Apruzzi. He married Beata in 2019 and they settled in Marlboro. Aubuchon and Apruzzi worked on the display at Apruzzi's home until the attention it garnered became too much for the town.
In 2019, Aubuchon and Apruzzi decided to take their show on the road, literally. They created a walk-thru display at the fairgrounds. In 2020, with the pandemic in full force, they, along with wives Kris and Beata, turned the show into a drive-thru experience and have not looked back.
A great success, the lights shine brighter every year.
And like the Grinch's heart, grew. More than three sizes.
The show is now more than a half mile long with millions of lights, 30-foot Christmas trees, four magical tunnels, with tons of larger-than-life holiday-themed displays and a tribute to first responders and the U.S. Armed Forces.
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Every year the display changes up and gets bigger and bigger. And thousands of cars drive through to best get into the holiday spirit.
"The only thing that doesn't change is our center isle where the big trees are − that is our signature and it stays the same," said Aubuchon, who usually mans the VIP lane and sees families come through year after year. "The really cool thing is I've seen many of the same families come through the VIP lane. I've watched these people's kids grow up every year. It's so nice to see them."
While the Winter WonderLights are open, everyone helps including Beata Aubuchon and Kris Apruzzi, who can often be found manning the ticket booths. Beata Aubuchon also oversees marketing during the season.
As for their own homes, things are quieter at the Aubuchon and Apruzzi abodes during the holidays. Just a simple static display and perhaps a few blow-up items, Aubuchon said.
After all, it takes months to set up the Winter WonderLights display. The pair typically begin in September with boots on the fairgrounds the start of October. They've got a fine-tuned routine down.
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"That's when I can open up everything and start staging everything," Aubuchon said. "I get everything laid out. And prepped. And so as I get sections of the park ready, (Tom Apruzzi will) swing by in the afternoons and helped me stand up the bigger stuff and get them secured on the ground. Then, he gets the rest of his stuff on site, and we get that up and then while he's working on his stuff, I'm getting all the programming done for the show."
Come January, it's time for everything to come down and get packed away for the next year. That alone takes up to more than three weeks.
According to the organizers, the average time to go through the display is 20 to 25 minutes, based on feedback received from guests. It is recommended that driving 2 to 3 mph through a light show in order to get the full effect of the lights being synchronized to the music playing in the car.
Also new this year is the addition of Dave's Delicious Fries Food Truck who are on site selling its popular fries and other snacks.
Go: Winter WonderLights is open seven days a week from 5:30 to 10 p.m. through Dec. 31. Tickets are $30 per car. VIP Season passes are $125 per car. For more information or to order tickets go to winterwonderlightshows.com.
email: cmakin@gannettnj.com
Cheryl Makin is an award-winning features and education reporter for MyCentralJersey.com, part of the USA Today Network. Contact: Cmakin@gannettnj.com or @CherylMakin. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ holiday light shows: Winter WonderLights in East Brunswick
