Charm City Lights: Druid Hill Park turning into Baltimore's holiday wonderland
BALTIMORE - Druid Hill Park is turning into a holiday wonderland.
Baltimore City Recreation and Parks will soon have a new attraction to get you in the holiday spirit.
More than 250,000 lights on more than 200 displays will illuminate the mile-long path in Druid Hill Park to form Charm City Lights.
The lights will be displayed from December 5 through January 1 from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
WJZ is a proud media sponsor of Charm City Lights.
"It's a lot of work, but at night, when the lights come on, it's a lot of satisfaction," said Joel Mosca, sales manager at Mosca Design.
Mosca came from North Carolina to help bring the Baltimore City Recreation and Parks' vision to life.
"We are in the commercial holiday decorating business, specializing in Christmas lights," Mosca said. "We've been doing it for over 40 years. So, we design, build, set up, install and program holiday lighting decorations and light shows."
Mosca was tasked with pulling off a dazzling spectacle for Baltimore's inaugural Charm City Lights.
"We start trying to determine how many lights it's going to take to light this place up," Mosca said.
"It's going to be phenomenal for the residents of Baltimore," said Ed Wheeling, the Baltimore City Recreation and Parks Deputy Director. "It's going to be phenomenal for the city."
Wheeling said he worked with Mosca Designs previously in another county.
"We had to do a lot of research," he said. "I was very familiar with the contractor that we worked with in the other area, so we brought them in. We had a couple of meetings. We did some walk-throughs. We looked at how we could set things up, what that would look like."
While the displays may have been built in North Carolina, Mosca made sure they're specific to Baltimore.
"We did a lot to feature the local community," Mosca said. "Crabs is just one. Over to my left, we have a Baltimore clipper-style boat, fishermen.."
Crews spent the past few weeks setting up displays. With some more than 30 feet tall, it takes a team effort.
"Eight to nine people to go ahead and stand it up, secure it," said Oswaldo Bonilla, the General Superintendent of Baltimore City Recreation and Parks. "Then, after the displays are up, we start the process of wiring and making sure everything is functional."
Bonilla said the set-up process is nearly complete, After a few test-runs, Charm City Lights will be ready to open next week.
"I think it's going to be great, very unique to Baltimore," Mosca said. "An awesome display. I think it's going to be one of the best in the area."
You can find ticket information at this website.
