SHARPSVILLE — The lights flicked on, then the car radio began to spit out noise.

The volume grew with a twist of the dial, and the yard across the street flooded with 100,000 LED, incandescent and rope lights.

A two-story pine tree twirled, a visage of Santa Claus sang, icicles dripped and a star fell in the background.

The lights danced to the beat of a Trans-Siberian Orchestra song as it came over the short-wave radio station broadcasting from inside the house.

As the show progressed, homeowners Michael and Janet Poulimas, murmured “The shooting star looks good,” “We need more lights in that area” and other phrases critiquing their work. It is the third year the couple have put on a lights display outside of their Sharpsville home.

In a field adjoining the yard stood the display that has absorbed the majority of the Poulimas’ focus for the show since last year, when the couple raised $6,130 for Kokomo-based nonprofit We Care.

A trip to Washington, D.C., where they toured the nation’s war memorials and visited veterans who fought as far back as World War II, helped them build upon a tribute to the military they featured in their show.

“The way we’re able to be a free nation and celebrate the holidays is because of the sacrifices of other people,” Michael Poulimas said.

Christmastime Tribute

A Battle of the Bulge soldier who spent weeks sleeping in snow and a USS Indianapolis shipwreck survivor who drifted in a life vest for days in shark-infested waters are a couple of the former veterans who Michael and Janet Poulimas have included in their Christmas light show.

They recorded stories from the men during their trip to the nation’s capital, where they visited sights such as Arlington National Cemetery and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. They then brought the audio back to Sharpsville where they transferred the clips into a show segment.

As the war stories play, lights illuminate a set of American flags, with silhouettes of soldiers standing among them. Each of the veterans, as they close their stories, wish a Merry Christmas as a way to tie back into the show.

“I am proud to live in this country, and I love what happened here in Kokomo on Veteran’s Day,” Michael Poulimas said. “And this is what I want people to walk away with from here, a pride in our country.

“Christmas is about two things: going out and doing things for people who are less fortunate, and also, it’s about pride in who we are.”

Poulimas also used the audio clips to make a video tribute that he put on the show’s website, www.sharpsvillelights.com. The video also plays on the city of Kokomo’s TV station, KGOV.

Community Recruitment

The light display outside the Poulimas’ home, which is heading into its third year, began with the intention of bringing together Sharpsville residents to create a Christmas destination.

Since last year, Michael Poulimas said, the effort has made strides.

They have tracked down an antique sleigh, which they will use as a perch for Santa Claus to meet with children and give parents the chance to take photos.

And a group from Sharpsville First United Methodist Church plans to hand out cookies and hot cocoa on two of the weekends, Janet Poulimas said.

“Small towns really kind of cooperate because everybody knows everybody,” she said about the town of a few hundred residents.

More Music, Lights

Besides the military tribute and more community involvement, the show itself has undergone some changes.

Along with the tribute, the lights display includes three other new songs: Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus,” Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s “Wizards in Winter” and a medley featured during Disney Epcot Center’s evening illuminations.

Some songs only run certain nights of the week. A complete schedule is available on www.sharpsvillelights.com. The shows run between approximately 40 and 45 minutes.

Michael Poulimas said he is converting as much of his show as he can to LED lights because they pop more. The total number of 100,000 bulbs, with their accompanying 15,000 feet of extension cords, are 10,000 more than last year.

“This is going to continue to grow,” he said.

• Daniel Human is the Kokomo Tribune business reporter. He can be reached at 765-454-8570 or at daniel.human@kokomotribune.com.