The Post and Courier
Ah, the sheer splendor of holiday lights. Their innocent glow has long evoked the magic of the season, twinkling from trees and amping up curbsides with wondrous wattage.
This year, light displays possess even more fantastical power, shining from afar with a luminosity often best seen 6 feet away by stroll or drive.
The newcomer luminary most resonant with this hunkered-down holiday is the series of projections now lighting up the petite, tranquil Theodora Park that opened in 2015, the result of a collaboration of donors, artists, designers and builders, the City of Charleston and Charleston Parks Conservancy.
Community member David Rawle drove both the funding and the vision for the initiative, which is named after his mother Theodora. He was also responsible for the new light display, a two-minute cycle of projected uplifting words and messages that at present transform the park’s components and its surrounding surfaces.
“Everything was intentional,” said Rawle, noting that the projecting on places like tree trunks and building tops required theatrical lighting design, which was created by Rhys Williams at Work Light Productions. Even the font, Universe Bold, was deeply considered to be accessible and non-institutional. According to Rawle, the goal was to affirm the sense of hope that he feels is within all humans.
In it, glowing words like “hope” and “imagine” cascade down trunks of palmetto trees and encouraging phrases grace the walls and structures of surrounding homes with a more meditative brand of holiday luster.
One burns particularly bright for this wary Christmas, projected onto a stuccoed chimney that may well entice a certain jolly roof-hopper. Rawle recently observed a lively family spotting it, and falling silent in a moment of reflection.
It reads: “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.”