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It's called "Santa's Runway" and consists of about two miles of lights and decorations across some 90 homes beginning along Sterling Road in Trumbull. The project started in 2021 as the brainchild of Zoli Szabow (pronounced Zay-bo), a lifelong Fairfield County resident and firefighter.
"It was the height of the pandemic. Everyone was trapped in their houses, and we just wanted to give the community something to ride around and see — that's about all you could do then anyway," he said in an interview with Daily Voice.
About 17 houses in his neighborhood took part that first year. Zoli, now a Trumbull volunteer firefighter, recalls a lot of "raw thumbs and bad backs" after they sunk stakes into the ground to run the lights. But after neighbors saw the spectacle, they wanted in.
Rich Roland, Zoli's neighbor, remembers hearing the original pitch and immediately being on board.
"Everyone was sick and tired of being home and seeing negative news," he said. "We wanted to give them something special. It just kind of dominoed from there."
Scores of people turned up that first year to check out the "runway" for themselves. They loved it — so much so that many offered Zoli cash to thank him.
He didn't do this for the money. He's always loved Christmas and wanted to decorate since he was awestruck at the light displays he saw as a child delivering newspapers around Fairfield in the 1970s. But he realized people in his community could use the cash.
The neighborhood has raised more than $15,000 over the last three years, with most going to Trumbull Social Services. It was important to keep the money in the town, Zoli said.
This year is on pace to be the biggest yet. Just on GoFundMe, the community has raised more than $20,000. Click here for more information on how to give.
But creating such a spectacle isn't easy. It begins with planning in July and takes weeks of hard labor that starts in early November. It may have been Zoli's idea, but it's grown into a complete community endeavor.
"We've learned from our mistakes," Zoli said. "That first year we really didn't know what we were doing, but year by year, we're learning more about how to make this more streamlined and safe."
For several hours a night, the street is made one way to help lower the congestion and make it safer to walk or drive through. The way the lights and ornaments are hung is more streamlined and consistent. Neighbors pass out candy canes, hot chocolate, and other homemade goodies, and they have a team of people now who work each day to put this all together.
You could call them Santa's elves, but Zoli jokes that no one will put on the leotard to play the role.
Zoli, however, is willing to don a suit. He dresses up as the Grinch to greet guests and take photos for several nights a week leading up to Christmas.
Volunteers from the community wear the Santa suit.
Santa will be out on Friday, Dec. 20, from 5:30 p.m. until 8 p.m., and Saint Nick and The Grinch will greet visitors during those same hours on Monday.
Zoli said he has a lot of ideas he still wants to implement, like building a train that children can actually ride in. He's gone as far as to speak to a man in Ohio about building it, but he's not ready to pay the more than $20,000 price tag.
"I love Christmas," he said. "I always joke on the day after Christmas, there's just 364 more days until the next one."
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