St. George's Towering Record-Breaking Light Display

A stunning digital Christmas tree display is transforming the St. George skyline this holiday season, delivering an extraordinary visual experience that has captured the attention of residents and travelers alike.

 

The massive 80-foot installation, featuring 7,500 LED lights arranged in 48 strands, towers above Dixie Power's building in the Bloomington area and creates programmable animations that dazzle viewers from Interstate 15.

 

This technological marvel represents the latest advancement in Southern Utah's holiday celebration efforts, combining traditional Christmas spirit with cutting-edge digital artistry.

 

The digital tree is the tallest in Utah, surpassing the 70-foot display at the Outlets in Lehi, establishing St. George as a premier destination for holiday light displays.

 

Steven Young, Dixie Power's communications specialist and lead programmer, explained that the tree is animated and can be programmed to put any scene on there that they want.

 

The installation process demands significant expertise, requiring two to three days of work by Dixie Power linemen, who truck in an 85-foot pole and raise a curtain filled with LED light strands around it.

 

Travis Lathim, a Dixie Power lineman involved in the construction, described the experience as big, heavy, and interesting.

 

A unique feature of the display includes a Santa positioned in the middle of the tree wearing one of their climbing belts, adding a personal touch that reflects the utility company's identity.

 

Behind the scenes, Young's team spends hours after dark testing animations to ensure everything runs perfectly, demonstrating the meticulous attention to detail required for such an ambitious project.

 

The programming work involves sophisticated software that allows editing like a video timeline, with the whole tree running off of just a little tiny micro SD card.

 

Remarkably, some songs require extensive development time, with one team member spending just over a week and a half coding a single song for this year's display.

 

For the linemen who construct the display annually, the project offers a change of pace to do something a little different, creating meaningful connections with their families and community.

 

Elliot Dutton, another Dixie Power lineman, expressed enthusiasm about having their part in setting it up and being able to tell their own kids that they helped set this up.

 

The holiday tradition joins other festive celebrations throughout Southern Utah, including Christmas in Dixie at Veterans Park in Washington and Christmas in the Canyon at the Tuacahn Amphitheatre with over 250,000 twinkling lights.

 

This magnificent display underscores St. George's growing reputation as a holiday destination where technology meets tradition in spectacular fashion.

 

The digital Christmas tree represents more than just holiday decoration – it showcases the innovative spirit of Southern Utah's business community and their commitment to creating memorable experiences for residents and visitors during the most wonderful time of the year.