Moonlight Meadows brings a spooky spectacle to Avery Drive

MORGANTOWN — Greater than 6,000 LED pixel lights, individually positioned and able to exact manipulation to show a limitless array of colours meticulously choreographed to a soundtrack broadcast by way of FM transmitter. 

The twinkles dance and soar amid projection shows and a few 136 handmade props, each static and animatronic, utilizing a posh array of controller boards and microprocessors operating by a central laptop. 

Is that this Disney World? 

No. It’s Avery Drive. 

Matt and Amy Scott are the imagineers behind this neighborhood magic.  

Each Halloween and each Christmas the couple devotes weeks to planning, crafting, arranging and programming the presentation. 

They’ve been at it for 4 years now, however the spark has been there for many years. 

“All of us grew up going to Marion Meadows and watching the sunshine reveals that household would put collectively. It was a husband-and-wife crew who had a bunch of blow molds and a ton of lights. The household was actually well-known within the space,” Matt Scott mentioned.  

“We might go and sit outdoors for hours and take a look at these blow molds and all of the lights of their shows.” 

So, just a few years again the couple took that inspiration and their love of the vacations — Matt, Halloween and Christmas for Amy — and got here up with what they hoped could be a protected respite from the isolation of COVID.  

And because the want for social distancing has diminished, the presentation has taken on a extra social vibe. 

“What’s completely different about our mild present from the rest we have now seen during the last 30 years in Morgantown is my spouse and I are outdoors virtually each evening, assembly and greeting our company, answering questions, speaking to the youngsters and watching the grins on their faces,” Matt mentioned. 

They’re additionally pulling double obligation as valets of kinds, serving to spectators discover a spot to drag over, kill the headlights and tune in to 99.9 FM for the total Moonlight Meadows expertise. 

“We be sure that the visitors is flowing and ensuring our neighbors’ driveways will not be being blocked,” Matt mentioned. “That’s most likely the largest hazard we do have. We don’t wish to upset our neighbors. We’re in a neighborhood and this might all be shut down fairly rapidly by folks not being well mannered to our neighbors.” 

The Scotts have raised an estimated $11,000 during the last 4 years. Halloween donations go to Operation Welcome Residence; Christmas proceeds all profit Pantry Plus Extra. 

They’re on Fb as Avery Gentle fX and have a Venmo account. Financial donations can be dropped in a bucket integrated into one of many props.  

The present goes on 5:30 p.m.- 9:30 p.m., Sunday by Thursday and 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. 

But when Halloween’s not your factor, simply wait til Christmas. 

“In the case of Halloween, I’ve about 6,000 pixels and my spouse is pulling virtually 12,000 pixels for the Christmas present,” Matt mentioned. “There’s a little bit of a contest, however that being mentioned, we’re 100% a crew all the way in which.”