Shane Johnson has been putting on an electronic Christmas light show to benefit Make-A-Wish Mid-South for the past two years.
He's 16 years old, and he taught himself how to program light shows at age 14.
"I saw a YouTube video of the Holdman lighting display and I was inspired by them," the eStem public charter school student said, referring to a large yearly display in Utah. "I was curious how they got their lights to work. Over the years I taught myself by Googling other YouTube videos or whatnot."
Johnson said his light show -- Lights on Jupiter, which runs nightly from Nov. 26 to Dec. 31 near Little Rock -- is one of the only electronic shows still running in Arkansas.
Like the late Little Rock businessman Jennings Osborne -- who began a Christmas display for his daughter in the 1980s that grew into a world-famous extravaganza that was eventually purchased by Disney -- Johnson has expanded his show each year.
When Johnson was 14 he did a Halloween light show in his yard with just a few strands of lights. In 2015, he did a larger Christmas show in front of his house. This year he's increased that to hundreds of lights spanning three houses. His neighbors on both sides agreed to become part of the show.
Johnson puts up all the lights himself, and does all the programming. The lights appear to move around with different songs, including Christmas classics and hits from the 1980s.
Anyone can view the light show by driving to Jupiter Drive, a dead-end dirt road off of Heinke Road in Mabelvale. Viewers can then tune into 104.3 FM to hear the music that corresponds to the lights.
The show runs from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
The light show doesn't run any time it rains or right after a heavy rain storm. Anyone going to see the light show can check the Lights on Jupiter Facebook page before going to make sure there are no other technical difficulties calling off the show that night.
Viewers are asked to leave donations to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation. There's a donation box on site, and Johnson also takes donations for the charity on his website, lightsonjupiter.com.
"I chose Make-A-Wish especially because I am a 16-year-old teenager, a kid, and Make-A-Wish Foundation gives back to other kids. I felt like that was much more personable," Johnson said.
Patrick Presley, the regional manager of Make-A-Wish Mid-South, said Johnson's work to raise money for the charity is remarkable and unique in that he's a one-man show.
"He goes far and above to make this not only an outstanding staple of Christmas in central Arkansas, but also in doing so enables us to continue our work of granting wishes of children with life-threatening medical illnesses," Presley said. "The effort he places in Lights on Jupiter is impressive for anyone, but all the more so because of his age. It's, in my opinion, extraordinary the work, time and dedication he has put into this event."
Presley said Make-A-Wish "could not be more appreciative" of Johnson, adding that the teen's effort is benefiting children all over central Arkansas.
Johnson's parents support him in his endeavor, buying the lights and controller boxes.
"They've bought many, many lights. We have an entire storage building full right now for next year," Johnson said.
It takes six to 12 hours to program each minute of a song, so Johnson views the show as a year-round project.
"We have a leaping arch in the front yard. It's a 20-foot piece of PVC pipe wrapped in eight strings of light. Each of those strings of light has to be individually controlled. I have to go into the computer and tell it every tenth of a second that I want it to turn on, flash, etc.," he said.
Johnson said he plans to continue the show even after moving away to college. He'll go back home on the weekends to work on it, he told his mom.
"Shane's dad and I are very proud of him. He spends countless hours doing his show. It's more than a show to him -- it's a passion," said his mother, Donna Johnson. "I believe this will help him to decide what his passion in life will be, whether it's computer engineering or being another Osborne."
Metro on 12/23/2016