ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – The city of St. Augustine is preparing for thousands of visitors to check out the annual Nights of Lights at the end of the month.
It takes the city months to get ready for the tradition. Chris Fitts with Angels in Architecture and his team have been hanging the lights for Nights of Lights for more than 20 years. They are responsible for lighting a majority of the city properties, buildings, and bridges.
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"This time of year everyone gets very excited about the city being lit up, and we're right on the front line of it," Fitts said.
The annual holiday display starts on Nov. 23 and runs through Feb. 2, 2020.
"It takes what's already beautiful, St. Augustine, and makes it even more beautiful at night by enhancing what's already there," explained Paul Williamson, City of St. Augustine Public Affairs Director.
To prepare for Nights of Lights, Fitts said they maintain all the equipment year-round and then start installing some of the lights as early as August. This year, Fitts said they are adding lights to roughly two dozen new properties.
"It gets asked of us every year, how many lights are up in St. Augustine, and we quit counting at about two and a half million, so we're probably close to three million right now," Fitts said.
With just over two weeks until Nights of Lights, Fitts said there is still a lot of work to be done. But once it's finished, he said the city will dazzle even brighter and better than before.
Several privately-owned buildings and businesses also choose to decorate for Nights of Lights on their own.