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00:00Three, two, one!
00:03Tonight, our annual heavyweight special sets sail once again.
00:09This is massive!
00:11And it's gonna be sweeter than ever before.
00:14You're making me hungry right now, all right?
00:17As we wrestle up holiday cheer.
00:19What, you wanna arm wrestle, buddy?
00:21With next-level displays...
00:24So we're gonna head up these ladders.
00:26Ten stories up. Ten?
00:28Worlds bigger than any home.
00:31This is South America!
00:33So colorful and bright!
00:35And Judge Carter Osterhaus...
00:37I'm the king of the Christmas world!
00:40Awards our $50,000 prize!
00:43This is so cool!
00:45So get ready for a boatload of whole-a-day fun!
00:50I love both! I love both!
00:53Because the Great Christmas Light Fight heavyweight special...
00:56This is beautiful!
00:57Is on!
00:59What goes on in your head is kind of incredible!
01:12Welcome to Nauticus's Winterfest!
01:15Where we don't just deck the halls...
01:17We deck the halls!
01:19Whoo!
01:20Whoo!
01:21Whoo!
01:22Whoo!
01:23All right, guys.
01:24It's Winterfest time.
01:25Nauticus is a maritime discovery center located in Norfolk, Virginia.
01:29Each year, we offer an amazing holiday experience called Winterfest.
01:33We've got to build stuff that when Carter sees us, we'll blow him away.
01:37Right out of the water.
01:38And the big feature is the Battleship Wisconsin.
01:43Wisconsin is over 880 feet long.
01:47She is the longest of the Iowa-class battleships by three inches.
01:51She's about 108 feet wide and has a draft of about 38 feet before she hits bottom.
01:57We are the heaviest of the heavyweight challengers.
02:01This is one of your best ideas yet, Jeremy.
02:03It saves a lot of time when we're out here.
02:05In all my years, this has been one of the most unique projects
02:09because the battleship was not built to hang Christmas lights on.
02:14We have to have a rigid base here.
02:16It holds everything into place, protects you from wind,
02:19makes sure our props don't tip over the wind out here.
02:23We have to kind of take the structure of the ship and try to work around it.
02:28Looking good, boss.
02:30We're proud to say that all of our decorations are custom-made.
02:37We spent all of July attaching the lights to about 5,000 yards of fencing,
02:42and we basically made it into a big puzzle.
02:45This is the $50,000 tree.
02:48So when Winterfest began, we were able to open the exhibit with 250,000 lights.
02:54Last year, we were able to go up to 1 million lights,
02:57and this year, we're at 1 million-plus, plus-plus lights,
03:01but I'm not counting anymore.
03:03And that's how you decorate a battleship.
03:08Winterfest is gonna take you on a voyage you'll never forget.
03:11Merry Christmas!
03:13Merry Christmas!
03:15Merry Christmas!
03:31Wow! How are you guys doing?
03:33Tell me a little bit about yourself and who's with you.
03:36I'm Wren, I'm the Director of Development and Marketing here at Nauticus.
03:39Nice.
03:40I'm Kat.
03:41I'm the associate director of marketing at Nauticus.
03:43I'm Jeremy.
03:44I'm the lead lighting designer for this project.
03:46I'm Alex, a maritime educator.
03:48I'm Bob.
03:49I'm Nauticus board member and a 26-year debut veteran.
03:52Thank you for your service.
03:54You know this is the heavyweight, right?
03:55Absolutely.
03:56This is the heavyweight.
03:57Absolutely.
03:58So are you guys competitive?
03:59You betcha.
04:00Well, then what sets you guys apart from some of the other heavyweights?
04:03Every year, we do a holiday event where we put over a million lights across our campus
04:08called Winterfest.
04:10We work with a team of staff members and Navy veterans to make this come together.
04:15Wow.
04:16That's incredible.
04:17A million lights.
04:18That's a lot of lights.
04:19We are definitely the heaviest of heavyweights.
04:21All right.
04:22Well, I'm excited.
04:23You guys ready to start this up?
04:24Yeah!
04:25Okay.
04:26What are our next steps?
04:27What do we have to do to get this thing started?
04:28Right here, we've got a surprise for you.
04:30We've got some veterans standing by.
04:31They're on your command.
04:33They're on the other end.
04:34They're going to light this thing up.
04:35Okay.
04:36So what do we have to say?
04:37It is three, two, one.
04:38Light her up.
04:39Are you guys ready?
04:40Yeah!
04:41All right.
04:42Come on.
04:43Here we go.
04:44In three, two, one.
04:48Light her up!
04:54Wow!
04:55This is massive!
04:57This is a battleship retired from the U.S. Navy.
05:01Wow.
05:02You guys have covered every square inch of this ship.
05:04Absolutely.
05:05Oh, yeah.
05:06It's stunning.
05:07This is the historic battleship Wisconsin.
05:10The last and largest battleship built by the U.S. Navy.
05:13This is the biggest heavyweight I've ever seen in my life, and I love it.
05:17This ship was beautiful, and now it's even more beautiful with all this light.
05:25Can we get up there and check it out?
05:26Let's go!
05:27Okay.
05:28Come on, guys.
05:29Let's go.
05:30I saw three ships from sailing on Christmas Day.
05:33On Christmas Day.
05:34I saw three ships from sailing on Christmas Day in the morning.
05:38Look at the black barrels.
05:40Wow.
05:45Look at this deck.
05:46Solid teak.
05:47All these planks are two and a half inches thick.
05:49All the sea of trees.
05:50Beautiful blue lights.
05:51I love it.
05:52I love the teak decking.
05:54All the blue.
05:55But this is the spot.
05:56How do you even light this?
05:58Do you just use a ladder?
05:59No.
06:02I got in trouble for that, but no.
06:04Yeah.
06:05The first thing we do is we have to figure out ways to connect to the rifles, which have
06:09no points on them.
06:10So we make harnesses so that we can pull wires different directions.
06:14Yeah.
06:15There's really nothing on a battleship that helps you hang Christmas lights.
06:19And any time that we do build something out here, it has to be a certain amount of windproof
06:24because we have a massive wind tunnel through here off of the water.
06:27Oh, I can imagine.
06:28Right.
06:29So everything is fabricated especially for this ship.
06:32What are these nets?
06:33This is hog wire fencing.
06:35We hand tie all the strands onto this wire.
06:38It gives us a good way to mold around things that are on the ship.
06:41Just the optics of it.
06:42You see the waves.
06:43Right.
06:44You know, so it has that organic sort of flow to it, which is really nice.
06:48I didn't realize I was going to see a forest on a ship.
06:51It's really incredible.
06:57Well, this is fun up here on the bow.
07:00This amazing view straight down to the turret and beyond.
07:04And also of downtown Norfolk, the skyline is just beautiful at night.
07:07And then you got this big old mega tree up there.
07:09Yeah.
07:10VQ's tree that was built on top of a radio antenna.
07:12115 feet off the water.
07:14It's really impressive.
07:15Visual from right here is stunning.
07:18And I know there were lights hanging over the front too, right?
07:21Yeah.
07:22The icicles.
07:25Whoa.
07:26Right now there's 487 nine foot strands connected.
07:30That's a lot of lights.
07:31I love it.
07:32These strands was probably one of the most impressive strand lights that I've ever seen displayed.
07:41This is the spring is coming section.
07:43A good tunnel.
07:44It makes a difference.
07:45It makes a difference.
07:46Yeah.
07:47Yeah.
07:48We just took raw iron and we bent all these flowers.
07:51Uh-huh.
07:52And welded them all.
07:53I love the spring.
07:54I mean, it's just...
07:55Spring is coming.
07:56It looks great.
07:57Do you drill into the deck?
07:58No.
07:59We put in four by fours and we stapled to those.
08:01These tubes we made out of a sprinkler tube.
08:04Yeah.
08:05But then we had to reinforce them with steel up and over to get the shapes.
08:08Well, of course, you got to use heavy duty materials for heavy weight, right?
08:11Only makes sense.
08:12That's right.
08:13The ultimate heavy weights.
08:16Candy Cane Lane.
08:17All right.
08:18I mean, who doesn't love a good candy cane during the holidays?
08:20Yeah.
08:21There we go.
08:22Yeah.
08:23I saw that long boat davit.
08:25And we thought, well, if we could just build the curvature on the end, we'll have a perfect
08:30candy cane.
08:31So we built a cage and a frame to extend it out and we just ratchet strapped it up there.
08:36I like that you utilized what you had.
08:39Well, this part of the ship is very sweet.
08:41Yeah.
08:42I dig it.
08:44So as you can see, this is why everything has to be so secure.
08:48Yeah.
08:49Because the wind is quite the factor.
08:50Wind is something fierce.
08:51This is the fan tail.
08:53This is where we landed helicopters.
08:54Really?
08:55Right there.
08:56Right underneath the middle of that tree.
08:57Wow.
08:58You did a wonderful job covering stuff that otherwise has a real functionality for the ship.
09:03One of the tricks to this is that we ratchet this down to the helicopter tie-down points.
09:08Oh, I see.
09:10All the lights are attached to ratchet straps so we can tighten them as we go.
09:14Bob, did you ever think you'd see a mega tree where the helicopters land?
09:17Never.
09:18Never did.
09:19Never did.
09:20This is one of the coolest trees I've ever seen.
09:25These are some of our favorite lights, these giant bulbs.
09:27Ooh.
09:28I love these.
09:29And look at this, the matrix.
09:31They're 10 millimeter Christmas lights that we can control with about 190 inputs.
09:37And it's a specially made screen that we built out of vinyl so that we could poke the nodes through, but also there's squares cut in between them so the wind can pass through.
09:47Oh, that's smart.
09:48So this doesn't turn into a kite.
09:49This by far is one of the biggest matrix I've ever seen.
09:53So, Carter, we've been giving you a VIP experience.
09:56That's right.
09:57A one-of-a-kind tour.
09:58Are you having fun?
09:59100%, yes.
10:00I think we might want to have a bit more fun, so we're thinking about taking you all the way up there.
10:06I get to go all the way up there?
10:08All the way to the 011 level.
10:10Ah, this is going to be great.
10:12Yeah, let's go.
10:13So we get to go up there, all the way to the top.
10:15Yes, we do.
10:16All the way to the top.
10:17It's going to be so much fun.
10:19All right, Carter, so we're going to head up these ladders right here.
10:22Ten stories up.
10:23Ten?
10:24Yeah, and they're going to just keep getting progressively more narrow as we get up there.
10:28Smaller and smaller, I suppose.
10:30Smaller and smaller, yes.
10:31I already hit my head.
10:32This is awesome.
10:33And now from here, we're actually starting to enter into the mast.
10:37Oh, man, it does get narrow.
10:39It does.
10:40Wow.
10:41Oh, gosh, this is tight quarters up here.
10:43Yeah, I promise.
10:44One last ladder.
10:46Final one.
10:47The final one, but this one's a vertical one.
10:49Okay, here we go.
10:52Final one.
10:53Right to the tippy top.
10:54What in the world are we doing right now, Alex?
10:57We're on our, pretty much our destination.
10:59Okay, well, where do we go now?
11:01Well, Carter, I thought I'd let you do the honors, and you just have to go right through
11:04this door, and then you'll be able to see the whole ship.
11:07Come on.
11:08For real?
11:09Seriously.
11:10This is so cool.
11:11I love it.
11:12All right, you ready?
11:13Mm-hmm.
11:14I don't know if I'm, I don't know if I'm ready at all.
11:18Wow!
11:19This is incredible!
11:23Oh, my gosh.
11:24Alex, that's really far down.
11:25Yeah, well, we're 11 stories up from the main deck.
11:26This is the best view I've ever seen.
11:28It truly is a work of art.
11:29It's so interesting to see the configuration from the tail all the way to the bow, and the
11:30color coordination is so much more impressive from up here.
11:34It's quite gorgeous, and you have it all tying up to that Christmas tree right up front.
11:35Yeah.
11:36This is incredible.
11:37This is incredible.
11:38Alex, you guys are taking heavyweights to new heights.
11:39Yeah.
11:40Yeah.
11:41I'm the king of the Christmas world!
11:42Yeah.
11:43I'm the king of the Christmas world!
11:44Nauticus's Winterfest was a great day.
11:45I'm the king of the Christmas world!
11:46I'm the king of the Christmas world!
11:47I'm the king of the Christmas world!
11:48I'm the king of the Christmas world!
11:49Oh.
11:50Nauticus's Winterfest was over-the-top heavyweight, something we've never whole seen before.
11:52Using a ship with the
12:17Using a ship as the backdrop of a display,
12:20that must be so difficult,
12:22yet they got so creative and figured out
12:24how to make it look flawless.
12:29What a trip that was.
12:31I was not expecting any of this at all.
12:34Just being able to see a whole 360 of this space
12:37was such an experience.
12:39It's more than just putting lights on a ship.
12:41It's all of the creativity that goes into it
12:43and just providing the community
12:44with a really fun holiday experience,
12:46but also celebrating our military community
12:48here in Norfolk.
12:49This was a heavyweight through and through.
12:52You weren't lying.
12:53It's the heaviest of heavyweights.
12:55It really is.
12:56I had such a blast.
12:58Merry Christmas!
12:59Merry Christmas!
13:00Thank you so much!
13:01Take care!
13:02Happy holidays!
13:03Happy holidays!
13:04That was a blast.
13:05Blue hat out!
13:12Welcome to Imaginarium,
13:14for holiday magic lights up the season!
13:17Woo!
13:20Lulu, your shipment came in on time.
13:22I'm excited.
13:23Imagineering is the traditional Chinese lantern festival.
13:27Let's get this to the hills.
13:28All right.
13:29What we try to do is offer an immersive experience.
13:32We want people to walk through on this and stuff.
13:35Okay.
13:36I want to feel like we're walking into the wonderland
13:38that you see in the movies.
13:39I want to discuss a little bit, you know,
13:41what exactly we're planning to do for Imaginarium this year.
13:45We have to make it spectacular.
13:47Yes, we do.
13:48The whole process takes months and months
13:51to make it happen.
13:52Under the sea, maybe?
13:54But I want to do our own fantasy under the sea.
13:58So most important factor is the concept.
14:00How about having a butterfly wings for the seahorse?
14:05Love it.
14:06Love that.
14:07Once we come with a storyline,
14:08then the artist is going to do the detail drawing.
14:10That's so unique.
14:11Oh, that's awesome.
14:13Then we'll have the blueprint to build 3D sculptures.
14:16After that, then the electrician going to install the lights.
14:19Then the lady who does the silking
14:21actually going to rip the silk and glue them,
14:23and then you will have a beautiful art.
14:25And after that, then our painting artist
14:28going to come here to get in the details.
14:30So they draw the eye, the face, the mouth,
14:32and smile to create Chinese lantern.
14:37This is the largest light display
14:39in all of Southern California.
14:41We have more than 1,000 Chinese sculptures,
14:45more than 10 million lights at our display.
14:49And we used over 300,000 yards of silk
14:53to create our Chinese lanterns here.
14:55Merry Christmas!
15:13Merry Christmas!
15:15How are you guys?
15:17Good job!
15:18Good job!
15:19Tell me a little bit about yourself.
15:21What's your name?
15:21Who are you with?
15:22My name's Lulu.
15:23Here's my amazing team from Imaginarium's as well.
15:26Hi, guys!
15:27Hi!
15:27Hi!
15:28Tell me a little bit about the Imaginarium.
15:31It is so unique.
15:32Everything that you see here is individually created
15:35by our team.
15:36They draw it up, and they bring it to life.
15:39We incorporate what's known as the Chinese Lantern Festival.
15:42We also incorporate a lot of Christmas scenes
15:44that we're all traditionally used to seeing
15:46during Christmas time.
15:47So it's a little bit different,
15:48but it's a lot to see, and it's a lot of fun.
15:50Well, I'm super excited to see it.
15:53Um, how do we get this started?
15:54We have a golf course set for you.
15:56Oh, gosh.
15:57So this is all yours.
15:59This is tiny.
16:00This is your ball.
16:01It's so small.
16:03To turn the lights on, you've got to sink this putt.
16:06You will aim the ball into our lovely Nutcracker,
16:08and it will illuminate the night.
16:10All right, you guys ready to do it?
16:11Ready to count down?
16:13Okay, here we go, in three, two, one.
16:23Oh, wow.
16:25Look at all these lights.
16:27This is beautiful.
16:31Three, two, one.
16:34You must have hundreds of lanterns.
16:46Yeah.
16:47These are spectacular.
16:48That field of flowers over there, it's epic.
16:51It's gorgeous.
16:56Your display is huge.
16:58It goes on and on forever.
16:59It does.
17:00It goes throughout the hills and in the trees.
17:02This is next level, guys.
17:04Talk about a heavyweight.
17:06You're looking at probably something
17:07that's probably the best wonderment
17:08that you could possibly look at.
17:10Oh, I like that.
17:11Wow, that's a big statement right there.
17:13Yeah.
17:14Well, can we get in there and check it out?
17:15Yeah!
17:16All right, come on.
17:17Let's go.
17:18Whoa!
17:24Look at the penguin.
17:28This is so cool.
17:30Look at this.
17:31Look at this.
17:35Well, this is fantastic.
17:38This is like the largest flower garden,
17:41most colorful I've ever seen in my life.
17:43And they're so original.
17:45How did you guys come up with this?
17:46We are the first one who bring the Chinese lantern
17:48festival in the United States in 2011.
17:52So when I designed this area for the flower garden,
17:55I kind of imagined myself as a fairy or tiny people.
17:58So you take yourself into it first.
18:00That's smart.
18:01And then we have the lantern artisan.
18:04Use the steel wire to build the sculpture.
18:07This is all steel wire right in here.
18:09Yes.
18:10And then what kind of material?
18:12The silk.
18:13That's silk.
18:14Yes.
18:15They actually get all this silk to stay on.
18:17They take a roll of silk and just rip it and glue it.
18:21And it just comes so naturally to them.
18:23It's such an amazing accomplishment.
18:28This fairy is so pretty.
18:30Look at this.
18:31All the wire is actually trying to follow the anatomy of the people
18:34and also the flower.
18:35So you can see the wires going this way instead of that way.
18:38How much wire to weld do you go through?
18:41So we're probably using about 20 ton of the wires.
18:44Wow.
18:45Yes, there's a lot of sculpture to make that happen.
18:47Yeah, you have to.
18:48Seeing this entire sunflower field, how many sunflowers do you have?
18:53You're probably looking at over 20,000 flowers
18:56just alone in this area right here.
18:58These are individually placed as if they were real flowers.
19:02So they dig a hole into the ground and then each light string
19:06is put into the ground one by one.
19:08It's well worth it because what you've created is absolutely stunning.
19:12It makes me feel like a kid.
19:14That's exactly what Lulu likes to bring to the vision
19:16is to make people feel like a kid again and just enjoy themselves.
19:19As adults, we never really appreciate what we have.
19:21Yeah.
19:22So that's how our vision is.
19:23And I want to plant every imagination in everybody's heart if possible.
19:27Oh, that's so sweet.
19:29You've done that in a big way.
19:31Thank you, thank you.
19:32100%.
19:34This area in here, what is this called?
19:37We like to call it under the sea.
19:39Under the sea.
19:40It's incredible.
19:42And it's unique under the sea with the creatures as well.
19:45That's our own version of it.
19:47It's just so creative and thought out.
19:50They're like all pieces of art.
19:52The reflection is fantastic too.
19:54So we have LED strip inside.
19:56It's a tracing line.
19:57It's a programming by computer.
19:59They're so big and bright and gorgeous colors and vibrant colors that you have on here.
20:05Yeah, actually to keep it this way, we have to re-silk it every year.
20:09You re-silk it?
20:10Yeah, we have to tear down every silk.
20:12You take the silk off of all of them?
20:14Yeah, all of them.
20:15Why?
20:16Because the color fades out with the sun.
20:18When we're looking at a figurine like this, how many yards would this be?
20:22Estimate about 20.
20:23How many yards of silk in the entire park?
20:26I would say, estimate about 300,000 yards to make this attraction happen.
20:30Well, it pays off because it's beautiful.
20:33Yes.
20:38This is what I'm talking about.
20:40This is the fun stuff in here.
20:42So we made this a special one so you can see the backstage.
20:45Right.
20:46So you just took the silk down.
20:47Definitely.
20:48But now I get to see all this steel and the lights that you use.
20:52So for our electrical, it's all 24 volts.
20:55And we're adding additional rope light to decoration.
20:58When you see all the welds that go into that,
21:00just like that one heart right there,
21:02there's just so much detail that nobody gets to see.
21:06It's taking like three months just producing this alone.
21:09So this silk, if you're putting this on,
21:12you have a glue gun essentially, which you use in hot glue gun,
21:15to make sure that this is pressed.
21:17And it's pulled nice and tight.
21:19Like you have, you know, right even right here.
21:22Mm-hmm.
21:22I mean, that's so perfect.
21:25And you've nailed it.
21:26Thank you, thank you.
21:27Yeah.
21:29I love your sign.
21:30So fun, you just want to get up here and eat it.
21:32Imaginarium.
21:34Actually, it should be imaginary yum.
21:37Come on now.
21:38Talk about imagination.
21:40The amount of detail and hard work that goes into any of these lanterns,
21:44this is artistry at its finest.
21:47What do you want, arm wrestle buddy?
21:48Oh, whatever.
21:50He'd probably be.
21:52The butterflies?
21:54How do you even achieve those colors?
21:56We have to have artists to spray them.
21:58The lion?
21:59Yes.
22:00What?
22:01Lion of the flowers.
22:02I love that.
22:07It's so fun to be in here because everything is so larger than life.
22:11You got lollipops, you got your suckers.
22:13I love the big sweet sign in the back and the marshmallows in front.
22:18I mean, the time and energy.
22:19You guys have made this so appetizing.
22:22You're making me hungry right now, all right?
22:24When I designed this, I kind of imagined myself as making friends with gingerbread men.
22:29Yeah.
22:30So I make this like a human size and I want to create like a cake castle so I can walk into the cake
22:37and test all the like, yummy, sweet stuff.
22:39Right.
22:41Man, I mean, what goes on in your head?
22:43It's kind of incredible.
22:45It really is.
22:46It's super fun and lifelike.
22:48Imaginarium is such an impressive display.
22:51It has all these whimsical characters with these dynamic colors.
22:55It's so immersive.
22:56Everywhere you look, there's something new.
22:58The imagination it takes to pull off a display like this.
23:01Oh, you guys, that was so much fun.
23:05To see all of that.
23:07Thank you for joining us.
23:08It's incredible.
23:10You've created just this magical world and brought in the Christmas spirit and fun and energy.
23:16It's really impressive.
23:17And it's so important to enjoy the holiday, have peace over your mind,
23:23and be with your family together with loved ones that you have.
23:27Well, you know, this is a heavyweight beyond heavyweights, guys.
23:30I'm going to just give you a big hug.
23:32It's like Merry Christmas.
23:33Merry Christmas.
23:35Merry Christmas, guys.
23:37Merry Christmas.
23:38Merry Christmas.
23:39Merry Christmas.
23:40Merry Christmas.
23:42Merry Christmas.
23:43Woo-hoo.
23:45All it takes is imagination.
23:56Welcome to the River of Lights.
23:57We're a family club, and so we had built this lazy river at the club, and thinking about
24:08how we were going to be using this river probably three or four months of the year, I just thought,
24:13hmm, we should do something with it.
24:14Well, maybe we should just do Christmas lights.
24:16And the people sitting at the table with me were like, seriously, Linda?
24:19Did you just say that?
24:20I was like, yeah.
24:21Got your legal pad out again, Linda?
24:24I do.
24:24I do.
24:25I don't want it to ever be the same, so I think it has to be different every single year.
24:30Each year we try to say we want them to like it more than the year before.
24:33This is going to be South America, so we're going to have like a house facade in the front.
24:37Houses, okay.
24:38Houses.
24:39Linda's definitely the creative leader of this group.
24:41Europe, we're going to do a windmill.
24:43Linda gives me some assignments.
24:45She usually has a quick moment to sketch me something.
24:48And the windmill.
24:49And how big are these houses and windmills?
24:51Well, this one, these are going to be 10 to 12 feet each.
24:54And you want it how big?
24:55You want it where?
24:56I don't realize my drawings are not like fantastic drawings, but, you know, little scratches.
25:00They're abstract.
25:01They're abstract.
25:04You think I should hang this one here?
25:06Look, we need more red right here, right?
25:08Right here?
25:08Yes, right there.
25:09So something really cool about our display is the river aspect of it multiplies the lights,
25:15so it really intensifies the experience.
25:17Make like the half-ball trees, right?
25:20So now we're using half.
25:21And with the river, when you're spinning 360 degrees, we want you constantly looking,
25:26constantly engaged.
25:28Wow, Joshua.
25:29Pretty great, huh?
25:30Pretty good.
25:32Well, when Carter shows up here, we're not going to let him know he's getting in a boat
25:36until the last minute.
25:37But I think he's going to be really surprised that we are not going to be just walking around
25:41looking at lights, but that we are going to be in a boat with those lights immersed all
25:44around us.
25:47Merry Christmas!
25:58What's going on?
26:00How you doing?
26:02How's it going?
26:03You must be Linda.
26:04I am Linda.
26:05How are you, Linda?
26:06I'm Carter.
26:06Pleasure to meet you.
26:08It is so good to be here.
26:09Where am I?
26:10We are a large, family-friendly club.
26:14Okay, cool.
26:15And so we try to make Christmas kind of magical around here.
26:18Great.
26:18What separates yours and what makes yours a heavyweight?
26:20You're going to see the magic of our river where we have lights.
26:24Okay.
26:24So Josh is going to come up here with you.
26:26All right.
26:26And you're going to plug this in and we're going to get things going.
26:29Big, large plug.
26:30I can do this.
26:31All right.
26:32Are you guys ready?
26:33Yes!
26:33All right.
26:35Here we go in three, two, one.
26:39Oh, my goodness.
26:48This is impressive.
26:50This is massive.
26:51Everything's bigger in Texas, right?
26:53Yeah.
26:54I love the river.
26:55Oh, my gosh.
26:56And look at all of the tunnels over there.
27:01This is so stunning.
27:03There must be millions of lights.
27:06This is so unique.
27:09Well, do you guys want to get in there and check it out?
27:13Yeah!
27:15Come on.
27:15Let's go.
27:15Let's go.
27:25So this is our tent full of our animatronics.
27:29And this is also sort of a holding pass-through area before you get to a lot more lights.
27:36Oh, so people can just kind of walk through here.
27:38Absolutely.
27:38Take in all the elves.
27:39Take it all in.
27:40They're making presents over here.
27:42Those are really legit animatronics right there.
27:45Yes.
27:45We have over a dozen in this tent.
27:46Wow.
27:47That is a ton, you guys.
27:48Yes.
27:50You remember Anseli?
27:51Hey, how are you?
27:52How are you?
27:53Is this your section?
27:54Kind of my section.
27:56Is it?
27:56Well, wow.
27:57Look at this 75-foot long little village.
28:00This is massive.
28:01How many homes are here?
28:03212.
28:04212.
28:04There's so much to see.
28:06I mean, you could just get mesmerized and you could sit here for hours.
28:09Yep.
28:09Just looking at all the little figurines and see what they're doing, the little shops.
28:13This is really incredible.
28:15Really well done.
28:16Thanks.
28:17Thanks.
28:17Yeah.
28:23We saw lights at a river.
28:24Yeah.
28:25We're getting in boats.
28:26What?
28:26Oh, wow.
28:29I love boats.
28:35We saw lights at a river.
28:37Yeah.
28:37We're getting in boats.
28:38What?
28:40Oh, wow.
28:42We're getting in boats.
28:43I love boats.
28:44I love boats.
28:46This is where the real magic is.
28:47That's why I have the waders.
28:48We're going to give you a VIP tour of our light display this year.
28:50This is definitely a first.
28:52Let's go.
28:52All right.
28:53I get to ride down the river.
28:55How fun is that?
28:57You just put a huge smile on my face, you guys.
28:58Good.
28:59All right.
28:59You guys ready?
29:00Yeah.
29:00Let's do it.
29:01All right.
29:05This year, we have a theme, which is Christmas around the world.
29:09So we're going to go through all the different continents.
29:11What a perspective.
29:13Genius, I'm telling you right now.
29:15It is genius.
29:17Whoa.
29:17Ho, ho, ho.
29:19That is incredible.
29:21Look at all this red and white.
29:24The design of it is so impressive.
29:26Absolutely.
29:26What we do is we put trusses over the top of the rivers for all the different tunnel areas.
29:31And then we use these two-by-eight-foot grates, and we attach everything to it.
29:35How did you get each of those onto the grate?
29:37By using zip ties?
29:38Yes.
29:39Correct.
29:39We zip tie every single one of them onto there.
29:41It's a lot of work, but you see the kids' faces, it's worth it, you know?
29:45This is magical.
29:46This is South America.
29:48Wow.
29:48So colorful and bright.
29:51It's three four-by-eight plywood sheets going up, so they all have, like, windows cut out through
29:56them, and then the windows line up with the next sheet.
29:59You know, it's very special because it just reminds me of South America.
30:02I'm from Venezuela, so our towns are all very colorful.
30:05Yeah, I love all these colors.
30:07And now we're entering Europe.
30:09Whoa.
30:10The Eiffel Tower, the windmill.
30:12It's a Dutch thing.
30:14I'm Dutch, so that helps.
30:17The little rivers that go through Europe.
30:19You went above and beyond with your lights.
30:22This is gorgeous.
30:28This is our ornament tunnel.
30:30Wow.
30:31How cool is that?
30:33You would think you would see the seams, you know, up and down, but you don't even see
30:38the seams.
30:38Well, we better not.
30:39You don't.
30:40You don't.
30:41It's so clever.
30:43And the reflection off all of them makes it feel like there's more lights than there
30:46is.
30:47Absolutely.
30:49Now you're entering a new continent here.
30:53Whoa.
30:54Look at this.
30:55I love the Chinese balls up top and the paper lanterns.
30:59The cherry blossoms.
31:00That's cool.
31:01This structure is our interpretation of like a Russian structure.
31:04You guys have such fun colors throughout everything.
31:07I love just the pops.
31:09Yeah, there's just millions and millions of lights.
31:12Stunning.
31:16All the red, white, and blue representing in the United States.
31:18We had to put a big Texas flag because that's where we represent.
31:21That's right.
31:22Texans are proud to be Texans.
31:23You guys are.
31:25You still got your boots on.
31:26Oh, I got boots.
31:27I have boots.
31:28All right.
31:28Just checking.
31:29We wear our boots to bed in Texas.
31:31So this is obviously a new continent that you recognize right away.
31:38Oh, that is so cool.
31:40I love the trees.
31:41I mean, everything is so thought out.
31:43There's so much detail.
31:44Yeah.
31:45See the giraffes.
31:46Yeah, the monkeys.
31:47That's so fun.
31:48Got to get their groove on a little bit.
31:51It's really something else.
31:55Obviously, Antarctica is coming up next.
31:57It is about to get cold.
31:58Oh, now it is.
32:00Look at this.
32:00All the white.
32:01This is beautiful.
32:02See the field cables where we try to get that aerial, that third dimension on you guys?
32:06Yeah.
32:07I see little cubs over there.
32:09Yeah, we just fed them, so they're not hungry right now.
32:11Okay.
32:11Okay.
32:12Wow, those are cool.
32:13Then we have our giant kangaroo, the Great Barrier Reef, representing Australia.
32:19That is so fun.
32:21Another one of our homemade bridges.
32:23Just cellophane?
32:24Yes.
32:24That's exactly what it is.
32:25I love the paper dice.
32:26Wow.
32:27It looks perfect.
32:29Yeah.
32:29Like, I love the color differential between it.
32:32I am so impressed right now.
32:34It's the end of the ride.
32:35Oh, no.
32:36The end of the ride already.
32:38Let's do it again.
32:39Let's do it again.
32:40Let's bring it back.
32:40Having the Lazy River here is such a unique opportunity to actually see all these lights
32:45under the tunnels, under the bridges.
32:47They went light overload.
32:49It was crazy.
32:50That was amazing.
32:51There are so many magical moments on this river ride.
32:54I have to get in and see how this all works.
32:57Carter, this is kind of the biggest contribution of the Crystal Light's Play that I offer.
33:01A lot of the construction, I build it, and then we hand it off to the decorating team.
33:05Okay.
33:05So the decorators kind of paint and light it up.
33:07Well, it's so cool.
33:08I mean, this, you know, as a builder, this is what I love to see.
33:10Like, two by four for framework, plywood in the front, the sandbags you have here.
33:14All the dirty stuff.
33:16Yeah, this is the rugged.
33:17The dirty stuff, right?
33:17This is the rugged.
33:18And this is the...
33:19Party in the front, business in the back.
33:20That's right.
33:21That's right.
33:22And usually, this is kind of stuff of directions, I guess.
33:25He's brought it.
33:26The favor.
33:26If you want to take a look at this, so I see this, and I'm like, all right, now I have
33:30to...
33:31How long does it take you to put this, something like this together?
33:34To scribble that?
33:35Oh, about two seconds.
33:36Yeah.
33:36So this is what we're working with right here.
33:39You clearly, you have a vision.
33:41Yeah.
33:41And you got people like Josh and everybody else who can help, like, implement.
33:45It works.
33:46Yeah.
33:49All right, now we're going to show you some secrets behind the tunnels.
33:52It's so fun to be up here because you get to see all of these lights with all the structure
33:58to it and the components that go in to actually creating something like this.
34:01We have so many different levels on the different sides.
34:04Yeah.
34:04How can we go over the river?
34:06So it's like, well, I guess you can use a truss.
34:08Uh-huh.
34:08This is part of our truss.
34:10Nice.
34:11Use a little button.
34:12So these trusses obviously help out because I was wondering how, when you have this metal
34:16grid, you don't want that to sag.
34:18That's why it's real important that our trusses are only eight feet apart.
34:21Yeah.
34:21You put all that together here on the grid first.
34:24We put the lights first and then ornaments, then more lights.
34:27This is really cool.
34:28I am so glad I got to see this because I would have no idea how you put it together.
34:32Now seeing the truss and the grid, it makes a whole lot more sense now.
34:36What is this?
34:41Well, this is where Josh comes in with welding something else again this year.
34:46Nice.
34:46So this is the windmill.
34:48We definitely bought a new miter saw.
34:50Thanks, Linda.
34:51So I definitely wanted to try to build a more octagonal vase, you know, to get out those
34:54new obscure cuts.
34:56Uh-huh.
34:56And then a middle structure to kind of give it the height for the windmill.
34:59And then we built it off kind of a peak at the top and then some fins on the front.
35:03This is good.
35:04Does that sound familiar to you?
35:05Oh, it's another one.
35:06Yeah.
35:07It's another one.
35:08So she said this is, and Sally, I want Europe to look like.
35:11Josh is going to build a windmill.
35:14And, you know, she drew the trees.
35:15And this is why she gave us.
35:17This is great.
35:17So this is my interpretation of what it had to be.
35:20So I did the octagonal myself.
35:22And Sally was like, oh, I just don't know that I'm getting this one off this picture.
35:25But I did have to come out and say, you know, this is how we make it look like a river and
35:28a few things.
35:29I think this one's great.
35:31I think it's just such a visual moment within this portion of the display.
35:35And then you have all these trees with these fun colors.
35:38They're just vibrant and energetic.
35:40And, you know, even in the front with the tulips and all the bright colors that you have
35:44within there.
35:45I really dig this whole piece.
35:47You know, I should be in Holland right now.
35:49Yeah, pretty much.
35:50That's our hope for you to feel that way.
35:51It's because my last name's Osterhaus, right?
35:53Something like that.
35:54We did our research.
35:55Yeah, you guys are smart.
35:56I like it.
35:57River of Lights was incredible.
35:59I love the fact that they have all these different continents with all these wonderful, vibrant,
36:04fun, energetic colors.
36:06It was really creative.
36:07I had a blast.
36:09I had such a treat because I was not expecting any of it.
36:13You should all just pat yourselves on the back.
36:14Real quick.
36:15Come on.
36:16I'll do it.
36:16Okay?
36:17There you go.
36:17Getting into the river and seeing all the different continents, that was one of my favorite
36:21things.
36:21You just packed a punch on so many levels.
36:25To us, it's great to be able to do something that gives that sense of community at this time
36:29of year.
36:29And that matters.
36:30Yeah.
36:31That matters.
36:31Absolutely.
36:32You've done a phenomenal job.
36:33All of you guys have.
36:34I'm so impressed.
36:35Oh, you know what?
36:36Now's my chance that I could...
36:38Do you need that?
36:38Yeah.
36:39I mean, I want to make sure that I one day, you know?
36:43Okay.
36:43Yeah.
36:44It's probably worth a lot already, but like...
36:47I don't want anyone else claiming that kind of...
36:48Perfect.
36:49Gorgeous.
36:49Yeah.
36:52River of Lights wasn't just a ride down a lazy river.
36:55This was a journey down the world of Christmas.
36:57But I've seen some amazing displays.
37:01This is not going to be an easy choice.
37:03Look, I got to get out of here.
37:04I'm going to give you all a big hug.
37:05Thank you so much.
37:06Get in here.
37:07Come on.
37:08Oh, Merry Christmas, guys.
37:09Merry Christmas.
37:10Take care.
37:10See you later.
37:11Bye.
37:12I think he liked it all, so we'll see.
37:15Let's win this thing.
37:16Your drawing was the base bar.
37:17Got a heavyweight display in your hometown?
37:20Nominate them now at ABC.com slash casting.
37:27Hey, big guy.
37:35How you doing?
37:36Good to see you.
37:40This heavyweight competition was a battle of epic proportions.
37:45Nauticus's Winterfest from Norfolk, Virginia,
37:48had me sailing the holiday high seas
37:50on a first-of-its-kind Christmas battleship.
37:53I'm the king of the Christmas world!
37:55The crew covered the entire ship
37:58in a jaw-dropping array of lights
38:00and cleverly used parts of the battleship
38:02to accentuate their stunning holiday design.
38:06Did you ever think you'd see a mega tree
38:07where the helicopters land?
38:09Never.
38:09Never.
38:10Woo!
38:12Imaginarium from Pomona, California
38:14felt like stepping into a Christmas coloring book
38:17come to life.
38:18Imaginarium!
38:19They built hundreds of intricate steel sculptures
38:22and covered them with over 300,000 yards of silk
38:26to create absolutely gorgeous and unique pieces.
38:30What goes on in your head is kind of incredible.
38:33Woo!
38:34River of Lights from Houston, Texas
38:36took me on an enchanting Christmas ride
38:38I will never forget.
38:40This is South America!
38:41Wow!
38:42They had a massive, lazy river
38:44running through the entire property
38:45of their family club,
38:47completely decked out in Christmas around the world.
38:50And I got to see it all from a boat.
38:52That is incredible!
38:57Right up here, Santa.
38:59All of these heavyweights deserve to win,
39:01but Santa only gave me one trophy,
39:03and this was my hardest choice yet.
39:08Hit it, Santa!
39:09Thanks, Santa!
39:13Jeremy!
39:19Merry Christmas!
39:20Ah!
39:21How are you doing?
39:23How are you doing?
39:24I'm great!
39:25Why don't you get the rest of the crew
39:26and come on down?
39:27Okay!
39:28Good to see you!
39:30Ooh!
39:31This is gonna be good.
39:33Hey, everybody!
39:34Come here!
39:35Hurry!
39:35Hurry!
39:36Carter's here!
39:37What?
39:37Carter?
39:38He's here?
39:39Carter's here?
39:41I'm so excited to see him.
39:42Do you think we won?
39:45Hey!
39:46Hey, everybody!
39:47What's up?
39:48What's up?
39:49Good to see you all.
39:50Good to see you!
39:52Uh, guys, I have to say,
39:54Nauticus Winterfest brought new meaning
39:56to Battle of the Volves
39:58in this heavyweight competition.
40:00I mean, this battleship right here,
40:02it was off the nautical charts.
40:05And that's why
40:06you guys are the heavyweight champions
40:10of the Nauticus Winterfest!
40:11Eddie, this won $50,000!
40:14Woo!
40:14Woo!
40:15Woo!
40:15Woo!
40:15Woo!
40:16Woo!
40:16Woo!
40:17Woo!
40:17Woo!
40:17Woo!
40:18Woo!
40:18Woo!
40:18Woo!
40:18Woo!
40:19Woo!
40:19Woo!
40:19Woo!
40:20Woo!
40:20Woo!
40:20Woo!
40:20Woo!
40:20Woo!
40:21Woo!
40:22Woo!
40:22Woo!
40:22Woo!
40:23Woo!
40:23Woo!
40:24Woo!
40:24Woo!
40:25Yeah!
40:25I mean, this was a first.
40:27And this is going to go down in great Christmas light fight history.
40:31The fact that this is the heaviest of heavyweights
40:34that you have ever seen.
40:36The fact that you were able to take pieces that are on the ship
40:39that are not movable and haven't moved for decades and decades,
40:43and you were able to make it and turn it into a Christmas theme
40:46was so impressive.
40:48We're honored.
40:49We're so grateful.
40:50This is all just going to go directly back into the ship
40:52and help us preserve her for years and years to come.
40:55And this is so exciting!
40:56I'm so excited.
40:57Hold on.
40:58I've got a little surprise for you.
40:59Oh!
41:00All right, guys, I think they might know what this is.
41:03You ready?
41:04Yeah!
41:05Woo!
41:06Woo!
41:07Woo!
41:08Woo!
41:09Woo!
41:10Woo!
41:11Woo!
41:12Woo!
41:13Woo!
41:14Woo!
41:15Woo!
41:16Woo!
41:17It is amazing to be the heavyweight champion
41:19of the great Christmas light fight.
41:20I mean, I'm at a loss for words.
41:21This is huge.
41:22This is huge for Nauticus, huge for the battleship,
41:24and this is going to be huge for our military community.
41:26They have bragging rights for not only the ship,
41:29but how they serve our country.
41:31I mean, we're so excited to celebrate it
41:33and share it with the world.
41:34What do you guys say we take the celebration topside?
41:37Absolutely.
41:38Yeah!
41:39Woo!
41:40Come and get aboard!
41:41Let's do it!
41:42Yeah!
41:43Yeah!
41:44Yeah!
41:45This is going to be a great hood ornament, guys.
41:47Definitely.
41:48Put it up there.
41:49Come on!
41:50Who needs an aggregation light when you get a trophy like that?
41:52Woo!
41:53Woo!
41:54Woo!
41:55Woo!
41:56Woo!
41:57Woo!
41:58Woo!
41:59Woo!
42:00Woo!
42:01Woo!
42:02Woo!
42:03Woo!
42:04Woo!
42:05Woo!
42:06Woo!
42:07Woo!
42:08Woo!
42:09Woo!
42:10Woo!
42:11Woo!
42:12Woo!
42:13Woo!
42:14Woo!
42:15Woo!
42:16Woo!
42:17Woo!
42:18Woo!
42:19Woo!
42:20Woo!
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