After a hard day of shopping for your mailman and mother-in-law, you can wind down with a trip to the symphony -- without ever getting out of your car.
"Symphony of Lights," a drive-through light display at Symphony Woods in Columbia's Merriweather Post Pavilion, features leaping reindeer, toy soldiers shooting cannons and other attractions in a charitable fund-raiser presented by Howard County General Hospital through Jan. 1.
The elaborate exhibit, which benefits the hospital's Maternal Child Health Services and Programs, includes more than 40 colored light sculptures -- some 20 feet high -- over a 20-minute, 1.4-mile drive.
The hospital expects to raise at least $150,000 over the next three years from the $12-per-car exhibit, which organizers hope will remain an annual event.
"We thought it would be a nice fund-raiser that the whole community would enjoy," said David Abramson, chairman of the board of trustees for the hospital. "It's something the hospital could do for the community that would be appreciated by everyone who would go through."
The display took six weeks to set up and includes a "Victorian Village" with a 35-foot-high arch where a young couple spoons under a crescent moon; a "Winter Wonderland" of penguins and polar bears; and an animated "Toyland" where a giant rocking horse, Jack-in-the-Box and a gingerbread house pave the path to Santa Claus and his sled.
Light displays, hot new holiday attractions across the country, have become tools for organizations looking to raise revenue by using parks that otherwise are unused in winter.
"Cities are looking to generate surplus revenue and build traffic to bring people back at other times of the year," said George Mosca of Mosca Designs in Raleigh, N.C.
His company has created displays in Virginia, North Carolina and elsewhere in Maryland, including Ocean City's Winter Fest of Lights and a walk-through at the Baltimore Zoo.
Mr. Abramson proposed the fund-raiser after catching one of Mr. Mosca's exhibits last year at a city park in Newport News, Va.
The hospital official's wife, Lynn, suggested Symphony Woods as the site of the hospital's display. But the area is owned by the Columbia Association and the Rouse Co. The section that Rouse owns is leased by Merriweather Post.
After getting permission for the display from the Columbia Council, Rouse and Merriweather, the hospital hired B&J; electric contractors in Baltimore County to bring in electricity and Mosca Designs to design and manufacture the displays.
"Mosca brought up drawings of displays we could choose and some were custom-made, such as the musical instruments and 'Healthy Holidays' signs," said Debbie Daskaloff, corporate projects administrator for the hospital.
Mosca Designs leased the attractions to Howard County General for three years for a $200,000 fee and a portion of the revenues during that time. After that, the hospital will own the displays.
"These are start-up expenses, but we're looking at this as a three-year project," Ms. Daskaloff said. This year alone, she said, "we're hoping to have 40,000 to 50,000 cars."
And organizers hope they can continue presenting the exhibit after that.
"It depends on how well received it is," Mr. Abramson said. "So far, we're really pleased with the community response. We would like to do it as a regular holiday event for the hospital and the community."
How many light bulbs does it take to decorate the 1.4-mile display, which costs about $15,000 a month to illuminate?
Organizers won't say -- it's their contest question. The person who guesses correctly wins a limousine ride through the exhibit and to Crab Shanty in Ellicott City for a dinner for four.
Mr. Mosca said the display is an inexpensive way to entertain the family.
"Lots of times, the first reaction is 'Who will pay $12?' " he said. "But after visitors go through, they say the money is well spent. It appeals to all ages: the kids, grandma, the aunts."
And even if visitors have to wait, "it builds anticipation," he said. "It's the one time people are not in a hurry when they're in their car."
Howard County General Hospital will present Symphony o Lights from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. daily through Jan. 1 at Symphony Woods.
Tickets are $12 per vehicle and $50 per bus and can be purchased only at the main gate entrance on Broken Land Parkway.
Discount coupons worth $2, valid Mondays through Thursdays, are available at The Mall in Columbia, the hospital's Right Touch Gift Shop and Rave Reviews consignment shop in Columbia.
Information: 740-7677.