More than a quarter million lights will dance to music during the Abbott House Festival of Lights Celebration on Thursday, December 2 at 5:30 pm.
The 2010 Festival of Lights Celebration is a partnership effort by the Abbott House and Mitchell Technical Institute (MTI) staff and students. More than 66 MTI students and three MTI staff members have donated more than 530 hours of work to the project. The MTI Automation Controls/SCADA students were responsible for the music and lights programming and setup; the MTI Electrical Construction & Maintenance students worked on the electrical connections; and the MTI Architectural Design & Building Construction students provided a workday to help with installation of lights.
This is a great partnership that creates a win-win experience for the Abbott House and MTI, Eric Klooz, Abbott House Executive Director, said. With the expertise of the MTI staff and students we can create a unique Christmas lighting display that is enjoyed by many in the Mitchell community and throughout the area. This project helps the Abbott House raise much needed funding for its education programs while providing hands-on learning opportunities for MTI students. Best of all, it gives MTI and Abbott House staff and students an opportunity to create one of the area s largest Christmas light displays for people enjoy.
MTI SCADA instructor Tony Russell was pleased to be part of the project. To give our students a chance at such a hands-on project is a valuable learning opportunity. They are really challenged by the project and excited to see it completed.
The 2010 Festival of Lights features many new lighted objects including Christmas trees, a special Abbott House archway and large stars, provided by more than 70 sponsors. The lights were put up by more than 125 volunteers and will be on display from 5:30 to 9 pm every evening through January 3.
