VALRICO, Fla. — There are nearly 120,000 LED pixels on Audra and Rodney Burton's Valrico home. The couple loves Christmas, and they want everyone to know it.
The Burtons will be making their national debut during The Great Christmas Light Fight, airing Sunday at 10 p.m. on ABC.
"It's kind of unheard of with just us two, especially at this magnitude in this size, but it doesn't feel like it to us. It's like another day out in the yard," Rodney Burton said.
The planning for a project of this scale takes all year. The couple worked weekends out in the yard, 10-plus hour days for 34 days to pull it off.
"We get a chance to actually tell our story, to get to get a chance to show people what dedication would drive for what love and passion can do for you," Rodney Burton said. "And not only that, when you look outside, we come out every night and talk to people. And they can't believe somebody would do all this for free. And give it back to the community. And that's what it's all about.
"Just us two. That doesn't include what we did all year long. We sacrificed many weekends, and we gave up some vacations. We went to Christmas light conferences to continue to enhance our knowledge of this sport," Audra Burton said.
The Burtons told ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska that they are motivated by their faith in Christ. Visitors to the home located at 2014 Sydney Road, Valrico, enjoyed how wholesome the show is.
"It's beautiful," Sally Barton said. "I love the Christian music. It is really different than some other light shows you see. I didn't expect that."
The Burtons had to place every LED pixel into place, which means the Burtons have touched all of the 120,000 lights. If that wasn't hard enough, they had to design and map out where they went and install each section piece by piece; nothing came prefabbed.
"This is what a true relationship looks and feels like when you love each other enough to sacrifice other things to bring joy to others," Rodney Burton said.
The show is free, but the Burtons hope people will take the time to help non-profits that rescue animals or donate pet food.
Last year, Audra Burton said they raised more than 2,400 for the Humane Society of Tampa Bay and collected more than 750 pounds of donated pet food.
This year, they are supportingA Kitten Place andRaining Cats and Dogs Shelter.
