Norris Shines
Residents spread holiday cheer through city
-
Santa in his sleigh, a giant reindeer and more light up this yard in Norris for the Norris Shines event. - G. Chambers Williams III
-
Santa’s using a mini-dump truck instead of his traditional sleigh to put presents under the tree in this scene along Hickory Trail in Norris for the annual Norris Shines display of lights. - G. Chambers Williams III
Many homes and even some businesses throughout Norris are taking part in the annual Norris Shines group’s efforts to make the holidays special through colorful lights and creative yard displays.
Norris Shines also includes a scavenger hunt to bring people out in search of specific items of decoration.
The list includes a “house with 50-plus Santas,” “nine-foot horse in pasture,” “real live deer,” “28 jumbo red and white candy canes along road,” “five nativity scenes,” and “Santa stuck in Christmas tree.”
Information and a scorecard for the scavenger hunt can be found on the Norris Recreation Commission’s Facebook page.
The Norris Shines organizers began planning for this year’s event in early summer, seeking donations of holiday lights and people willing to volunteer a few hours of their time to make it happen.
During a complete tour of Norris’ streets, The Courier News found that about one in five homes were adorned with holiday lights and displays, although the effort varied widely from property to property.
One concern was making sure the Town Center was adorned with plenty of lights this season, even though most of the Town Center building is empty of tenants. That has been done by an Andersonville company, 4D Exterior Solutions.
Besides the downtown gazebo, across West Norris Road from the Town Center, the group each year puts up thousands of lights at both main entrances into Norris, along with asking residents and businesses to light up their properties.