Why We Are Grateful to Help Light Up Ahwatukee

We install Christmas lights across the Valley for a living, from homes and storefronts to full HOA communities. Most of that work has an invoice attached to it. The work we do for Light Up Ahwatukee does not, and that is the point.

Ahwatukee is home for this company. Our founder grew up watching the lights come on along Chandler Boulevard the weekend before Thanksgiving. That memory is a big part of why this business exists. So when the volunteers behind Light Up Ahwatukee need a hand getting a park lit before 8,000 neighbors walk through the gate, we bring the ladders, the lift, and the crew.

What is Light Up Ahwatukee?

Light Up Ahwatukee is a volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in the Ahwatukee Foothills. The board formed out of the old Festival of Lights committee, the group that spent a quarter century raising money for the Million White Lights display along the Chandler Boulevard medians between 24th Street and Desert Foothills Parkway.

In 2021 the Foothills Community Association took over responsibility for maintaining the million lights display, with support from the Foothills Club West Association. A small group of volunteers then created the nonprofit Light Up Ahwatukee, moved the kickoff party to the Saturday before Thanksgiving, renamed it the Light Up Ahwatukee Holiday Festival, and pointed its purpose toward local charities. The board kept the word "light" in the name because it carries more than one meaning: bringing happiness and joy to the community.

The result is a nonprofit with two mainstay fundraisers and a wider charitable mission than the one it started with.

What does Holiday Lights Phoenix do at the events?

We have pitched in for the last several years, and the routine is the same each time. We show up before the crowd does and handle the lighting work that turns a public park into something that feels like the holidays. When the last band finishes and the park empties out, we come back and take it down.

None of that is glamorous. Lighting a park runs on the same skills as lighting a shopping center: measure the runs, plan the power, secure every strand so nothing sags into a walkway, and build in enough slack for a 13-hour event. It is the same standard we bring to a Chandler retail center or an Ahwatukee cul-de-sac, with no invoice at the end.

Where does the money from Light Up Ahwatukee go?

Light Up Ahwatukee is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to giving back to the community, and proceeds from the Holiday Festival go to its selected charity. The organization distributes a portion of each year's event proceeds across its chosen charities in proportion to what each one contributes, counting volunteer hours, sponsor dollars raised, marketing support, and more.

Charities apply to be considered, and the committee may ask a representative to present to the board. That structure keeps the money local. A dollar spent on a beer wristband in Desert Foothills Park tends to land back inside a few square miles of where it was spent.

What happened to the lights on Chandler Boulevard?

This trips people up, so here is the straight version. The Million White Lights display along the Chandler Boulevard medians is now the responsibility of the Foothills Community Association, which handles the installation, the teardown, and the electric bill. Donations for the display itself go to the Foothills Community Association with "Foothills Holiday Lights Donation" in the memo line.

Light Up Ahwatukee is the nonprofit that grew out of the original committee and now funds local charities through its two events. Two organizations, two purposes, one shared history. If you want to support the median lights, give to the HOA. If you want to support local charities and the party that opens the season, give to Light Up Ahwatukee. Plenty of neighbors do both.

When is the next Light Up Ahwatukee event?

The Holiday Festival lands on the Saturday before Thanksgiving at Desert Foothills Park, and the Spring Gala runs in April at Foothills Golf Club. Check lightupahwatukee.org for this season's date, sponsor packages, and vendor applications.

One note for homeowners: our install calendar fills in the same weeks the festival ramps up. We begin residential installs in early October, and the prime dates go first. If you want your roofline lit before the festival weekend, book in September. You can price your home in about a minute with our cost estimator, or read the full walkthrough in our guide to residential Christmas light installation in Phoenix.

Why does a lighting company volunteer instead of sponsoring?

We do both when we can, and we think the labor matters more. A check covers a line item. A crew with a lift covers a problem that no volunteer with a staple gun can solve at 6 a.m. on setup day. Lighting a public event carries real safety and liability weight, and it is the one thing this company can hand over that nobody else in the volunteer pool can.

There is a business truth underneath the sentiment, and we will name it. Neighbors hire the companies they recognize. Standing in a park in November with a spool of C9s does more for our reputation in Ahwatukee than any ad we could buy. We would still do it if it did nothing for the business, and it does not hurt that it does.

How can you help Light Up Ahwatukee?

• Volunteer. The festival runs on residents who give a shift. Sign-ups post at lightupahwatukee.org.
• Sponsor. Sponsorship packages cover the stage, Santa's Village, the tavern, and printing. Local businesses fill most of those slots each year.
• Sell. The Holiday Marketplace focuses on local artisans, with handmade goods, ornaments, candles, and gifts. Vendor applications open ahead of each festival.
• Show up and spend. Admission costs nothing. The wristbands, the raffle, the wine pull, and the 50/50 fund the charities.
• Apply. Nonprofits can submit a charity partner application through the LUA charity partners page.

If you run into our crew at the park, say hello. We are the ones arguing about whether the tree wraps are even.

Light Up Ahwatukee FAQ