Welcome to a new year with the Mercer County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society. We saw so many wonderful Christmas and holiday sights this past season. One that has been around since 2016 is the light show provided by Celina Insurance Group located on Walnut Street in Celina. The lights and giant nutcracker were pictured on the front page of the Tuesday, December 21, 2021, edition of The Daily Standard. The caption read: "Celina Insurance Group’s annual Christmas lights display shimmers and twinkles on Walnut Street. The 15-minute show choreographed to music starts at 5:30 p.m. and plays every half hour until the last show at 10 p.m. The show will continue until January 1. Along with festive lights, large nutcracker figures greet the public at the entrance."
Additional information was obtained from Sara Harlamert, Senior Communications Manager at Celina Insurance Group. Sara wrote that every 2-3 years, new songs are added and the show is revamped with assistance from an outside vendor. Celina Insurance Group’s dedicated three-person maintenance team puts up the lights and takes them down, and each year the team gets more and more skilled at completing the intricate project. The show lasts for approximately 12 minutes, starting at 5:30 p.m. and running at 15-minute intervals until a final show at 10 p.m. Visitors can tune in to 101.1 on their radio to listen to the show, and there are also outdoor speakers that play the music for those walking by on an evening stroll.
Mr. William Montgomery, President and CEO of Celina Insurance Group, is shown in one of the links below introducing the light show with a playful nod to Clark Griswald in the wonderful Christmas movie, “A Christmas Vacation.” Thank you to Mr. Montgomery and his staff for making Celina come alive during their wonderful Christmas show. There is no charge for the show. Simply sit in your car and watch as you listen to the sounds of Christmas.
The links below show the Christmas light show from the view of a drone during the 2020 season and a visit from Santa (played by the late Dick Rice, Claims Manager at Celina Insurance Group, who passed in August 2021).
https://vimeo.com/193404672/95549c929a
https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/494120138
https://www.facebook.com/celinainsurance/videos/387575459823465
Again, thank you Bill Montgomery and Celina Insurance Group for this wonderful Christmas show!
