There is nothing like the gleam in the eyes of children who see James Gallant’s Christmas lights

James Gallant’s North Rustico

The joy and wonder of Christmas comes alive in the children and the young at heart who experience the Christmas lights in North Rustico, PEI.

People go to North Rustico by the thousands during Christmas to see the famous light display.

Children love to run and play among the displays of Christmas and cartoon characters. Young lovers walk up the lane entranced by the display. It is a wonder for people from 2 to 102 and they come from far and wide to see it. The display brings back the joy of Christmas and can make us feel young again as we join with the children in being awestruck.

North Rustico fisherman James Gallant started his Christmas light project 20 years ago. It was a memorial to his 16-year-old son Ryan who died in a motorcycle crash.

Since then it has grown to be one of the largest lighting displays in the region. With more than 20,000 bulbs it is a labour of love for Gallant and his daughter Nadine.

The display is located on Allen Street, a small one-way in North Rustico (map below).

“I started doing it partly as a tribute and just to keep myself busy so I didn’t go crazy thinking about it,” Gallant said, as Christmas carols blared from speakers outside the house. “When it started, it was maybe half the amount of lights there is now and I just kept adding to it every year. It was pretty quiet for the first couple of years but around the third year people started coming around quite often.”

For the past five years, passers-by have also been able to donate to the Children’s Wish Foundation when they come to see the lights. Gallant said the family has raised more than $16,000 over those five years, including almost $1,500 so far this Christmas.

“People really enjoy the lights)and some of the workers here volunteer for the Children’s Wish Foundation and they suggested it to me,” he said. “We certainly want to thank all the people who come by and donate.” (Journal Pioneer)

Other homes in North Rustico also have lighting displays but none rivals Gallant’s. With the move of Harry James and his display from the Charlottetown by-pass, Gallant’s lights are the ones to see in the area.

Click to Google maps for directions to North Rustico