When Fabian Vega took his son, Isaac, to see the Greeley Grizwalds house—the iconic Christmas display that once acted as a beacon for those craving a little holiday cheer—he turned to his father.
“Dad,” Isaac said, “I want to do that one day.”
Isaac was in elementary school when he saw the Grizwalds house for the first time. He couldn’t possibly know that the decor really wasn’t magic, but rather the result of months of hard work by the owner, Mike Medhurst. Still, Isaac seemed ready for the challenge, as he had already dreamed about doing a big display for most of his life. When he was in kindergarten, he drew pictures of his own Greeley house covered in lights. At age 10, he messaged Medhurst on Facebook and told him he was going to do a similar concept.
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit five years later, Isaac saw a chance to make his dream come true. But he quickly figured out, through conversations with Medhurst, that he needed to do a lot more research. Rather than getting discouraged, he began planning a display for 2021.
Isaac is now 20. Medhurst has since retired his lavish decorations, sold the home and moved to Windsor. The Vega house has essentially replaced the Grizwalds house, as it flashes tens of thousands of lights to music and attracts hundreds of cars per night.
The Vegas’ goal is to “open” on Thanksgiving night. They start setting up before people even put their Halloween decorations out. That gives them time to chip away at the enormous task after Fabian returns from work and Isaac from Aims Community College, where he’s completing prerequisites for medical school.
“Every year, I like to add something,” Isaac says. “When the current display is running, I’m already planning for next year.”
Isaac and Fabian Vega in front of their decorated home in Greeley.
One minute at a time
Even with all the research Isaac did in 2020, setting everything up the following year was harder than he imagined. He wasn’t just stringing up the lights; he was figuring out how to make them dance.
Nearly every light bulb had a computer chip inside, allowing him to synchronize them to music. Every minute of a song took 10 hours to program, and he had to buy the music rights. A free website helped with the coordination, and the holiday lights community embraced him, even at age 16. He talked to a couple of guys he met on Facebook forums at least once a week over Zoom.
“When I would call,” Isaac says, “they would roll their eyes and say, ‘What did you break now?’”
He managed to get it all done, with a few blistered fingers, just as the holiday season started. He called the display a “dream come true,” even if, to his exacting eye, he made a lot of mistakes.
“So much was messed up,” he says, “but it didn’t seem like people could tell.”
Word spread quickly, and cars began driving by in greater numbers, peaking at 20 an hour. Sometimes they would stay for the entire 30-minute show.
Now the house attracts as many as 300 people a night through the end of the year. It’s way better than it used to be, Isaac says, with about 60,000 lights, which is more than twice as many as there were at the beginning. The neighbors have been supportive despite the increased traffic on their street.
Isaac admits he’s thrilled with the crowds. He and Fabian are proud of their work.
“We love to see the community enjoying something we do with our hearts,” Fabian says.
A deeper meaning
In 2022, the second year of the display, Isaac and Fabian dedicated it to Isaac’s cousin, Angie Vega, who was murdered that same year during a late-night shift at her family’s juice store in Greeley. She was 22. The man accused of killing her remains in custody of the Colorado Mental Health Hospital in Pueblo.
Isaac didn’t have any motivation to work on the display after her murder until he and Fabian thought to dedicate it to her.
“It took a pretty big toll on us,” Isaac says. “But she really enjoyed the display. I feel like it captures the feeling that Angie would give to a person. She was the light to a room. She brought the energy.”
The family typically refuses donations to cover their electric bill. It’s not much, Isaac says, only about $50 extra per month. They just want to give something back to the community. Isaac hopes the lights bring people a little cheer in the same way they helped him through Angie’s death.
“There’s always some grief around this time of the year,” he says. “I’ve had people tell me that the holidays are hard for them, but the display helps them out. That makes me happy to hear.”
Find the House
The Vega house is located at 2717 33rd Ave. Place in Greeley and will be decorated through Jan. 5. Visitors can tune in to 88.3 FM to hear music accompanying the lights. The half-hour show runs from 5:30-9:30 p.m. on weekdays and until 10:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
On Dec. 4, Fabian and Isaac will sponsor a toy drive and ask that visitors bring an unopened toy to donate. On Dec. 19, they’ll sponsor a food drive for the Weld Food Bank and encourage people to contribute a canned food item.
