|
 Frequently Asked Questions |
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How
do we get there?
We are located at 5784 Ironstone Drive in the Cottonwood Subdivision in
Columbus, GA.
For driving directions right from your front door,
click this LINK. (Disable
your pop-up blocker). |
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From Ft. Benning:
Take I-185 North
Merge
onto
US-80 East, Exit 10 toward Macon
Drive 6.5 Miles
Turn Right onto Flat Rock Road
(Spectrum Gas Station & Rite Aid on Corner)
Drive 0.7 Miles
Turn Right onto Flagstone Drive into the Cottonwood Plantation
Subdivision
At the Stop Sign, Tune your radio to 90.1 FM
Turn left onto Ironstone Drive
Drive about a tenth of a mile... you won't miss us! |
From Downtown Columbus:
Take 2nd Avenue to GA-22 Conn N.
Merge
onto
US-80 East, Exit 10 toward Macon
Drive 9.6 Miles
Turn Right onto Flat Rock Road
(Spectrum Gas Station & Rite Aid on Corner)
Drive 0.7 Miles
Turn Right onto Flagstone Drive into the Cottonwood Plantation
Subdivision
At the Stop Sign, Tune your radio to 90.1 FM
Turn left onto Ironstone Drive
Drive about a tenth of a mile... you won't miss us! |
|
From Auburn/Opelika:
Take I-85 North toward Atlanta
Merge onto US-280 East, Exit 62 toward Phenix City
Merge onto US-80 East via the ramp on the Left toward Columbus
Drive 12.5 Miles
Turn Right onto Flat Rock Road
(Spectrum Gas Station & Rite Aid on Corner)
Drive 0.7 Miles
Turn Right onto Flagstone Drive into the Cottonwood Plantation
Subdivision
At the Stop Sign, Tune your radio to 90.1 FM
Turn left onto Ironstone Drive
Drive about a tenth of a mile... you won't miss us! |
From Lagrange, GA:
Take I-85 South
Merge onto US-80 East via Exit 10 toward Macon
Drive 7.2 Miles
Turn Right onto Flat Rock Road
(Spectrum Gas Station & Rite Aid on Corner)
Drive 0.7 Miles
Turn Right onto Flagstone Drive into the Cottonwood Plantation
Subdivision
At the Stop Sign, Tune your radio to 90.1 FM
Turn left onto Ironstone Drive
Drive about a tenth of a mile... you won't miss us! |
|
From Pine Mountain, GA:
Take US-27/GA-1 into Columbus
(You'll drive about 20.9 miles from Callaway Gardens®)
Turn Left onto Grey Rock Road
Drive 4.9 Miles
Turn Right onto Warm Springs Road
Drive 0.7 Miles
Turn Left onto Flat Rock Road
Drive 0.7 Miles
Turn Left onto US-80 East / GA-22 East / JR Allen Pkwy
Drive 0.5 Miles
Turn Right onto Flat Rock Road
(Spectrum Gas Station & Rite Aid on Corner)
Drive 0.7 Miles
Turn Right onto Flagstone Drive into the Cottonwood Plantation
Subdivision
At the Stop Sign, Tune your radio to 90.1 FM
Turn left onto Ironstone Drive
Drive about a tenth of a mile... you won't miss us! |
From Atlanta, GA:
Take I-85 South to Exit 21, I-185 South towards Columbus
Take Exit 10 for GA-22 East / US-80
East towards Macon
Drive 7.2 Miles
Turn Right onto Flat Rock Road
(Spectrum Gas Station & Rite Aid on Corner)
Drive 0.7 Miles
Turn Right onto Flagstone Drive into the Cottonwood Plantation
Subdivision
At the Stop Sign, Tune your radio to 90.1 FM
Turn left onto Ironstone Drive
Drive about a tenth of a mile... you won't miss us! |
| 2) |
When
is the best time to enjoy the lights before it gets busy? |
We have found that weekday evenings, arriving early (the lights
begin at 6pm EST) tend to be less busy than weekend evenings.
However, don't let that fool you. We average hundreds of
visitors each evening. |
| 3) |
Can we
get out, walk around, and take photos? |
Absolutely! You're welcome to walk up to the light display
to take photos. Just be mindful of the areas roped off for
your protection. If you desire to park and get out on a
busy night, you might find it easier to park on Ironstone Court
or Pebble Court, just up the road right before you get to the
Ludy's home. |
| 4) |
How many lights do
you have? |
Over 110,000 total with more than four miles
of wires! |
| 5) |
What type of
controllers are you using to operate the lights? |
Currently operating Light-O-Rama
controllers. |
| 6) |
How many amps of
power are you using? |
200 amps |
|
7) |
How much wire does
it take to power the lights? |
4.0 miles |
| 8) |
What did you use to
transmit a FM station? |
Jerry converted an I-Pod
transmitter antenna to a larger wave length. This allowed
him to extend the broadcast area to just under 175 feet. |
| 9) |
Where did you pull
all of the power from? |
Jerry added receptacles under the eves
of the roof. The original power meter was replaced with a
400 amp meter box. Originally we had added sub-panel power
boxes, but converter over to a 200 amp main breaker, because of
the demand. Georgia Power loves the Ludy's. |
| 10) |
When do you start
decorating the house? |
Jerry and Keith begin pulling the
lights out of storage in August. They begin the
decorating with the roof and work their way down. The roof
is finished by mid-October. Jerry and Keith both work very
hard putting the Christmas Spectacular together for the
grand lighting set for Thanksgiving each year. There is
also constant maintenance, an average of two hours each evening,
replacing blown bulbs or wires tangled from the weather. |
| 11) |
How long does it
take to remove and put all the lights away? |
The Ludy's usually start after New
Years Day. It takes approximately one month to remove the
main structure of lights, one month to remove the remaining, and
finally one month to pack all
the lights and decorations up, replacing any worn or weathered
description labels. Jerry and Keith are typically completed by
the end of March. |
| 12) |
When we visit, what special
hand-created projects of Jerry's should we be sure to see? |
-
On the roof - 35 foot wide Santa,
Sleigh, & Reindeers. Santa tosses gifts forwards, into
a hand-created lit chimney on top of the Ludy's home.
Santa then tosses gifts over his head and backwards.
From the left side of the house, you can see the gift fall
off the left side of the Ludy's home, bounce off of a
hand-created lit trampoline, and into a hand-created lit
chimney on top of the neighbor's home.
-
On the roof - "Blinky", Rudolph's
younger brother. Blinky sings along to the Christmas
carols and speaks to visitors during the duration of the
show.
-
On the roof - "Gus the Frog". From
the right side of the house, as Santa tosses gifts forward
into the Ludy's chimney, one gift misses and lands on the
front right portion of the Ludy's Roof. You then see the
gift open to reveal Gus and you hear his croaking.
Next, witness as Gus jumps from the Ludy's home onto the
right neighbor's roof and then into a fountain in the
neighbor's yard.
-
On the ground - "Snowman Snowball Fight"
- With a 7 foot Snowman in the Ludy's yard and one in the
left neighbor's yard, watch as they throw snowballs at each
other... the snowballs travel over the yards and smack the
other Snowman in the head.
-
On the ground - "Lighting Engineer Elf"
- He starts the show off each evening by plugging in the
lights.
-
On the ground - Nativity Scene - Yes...
handcrafted by Jerry too! Jesus is truly the light of
the world and this is the first item lit when the Elf plugs
in the lights.
-
On the ground - 25 foot lit Christmas
tree... over 2500 lights embrace this Christmas tree that is
topped with a the 4 foot star of Bethlehem.
|
|
13) |
What other new
plans do you have for future Christmases?
What is the average time it takes
per hand-created project? |
Each year, the current Christmas
Light Display is reviewed and analyzed. It is Jerry's goal
to create at least one new project a year. He begins with
hand-drawings on a dry erase board that he then molds wire into
the hand-drawn shapes. Jerry begins
working on the next year's Christmas display each January and
continues through October, working an average of 1,000 to 1,200
hours per project. It's Christmas year-round at the
Ludy's! |
| 14) |
Do the neighbors
agree to all of the additional street traffic? |
Over the years the neighbors have
never voiced any negative comments about the traffic. The
neighbors enjoy the lights and look forward to seeing the house
decorated each year. |
| 15) |
How did you program
the lights with the music? |
Jerry utilizes Showtime Software Suite software
that enables him to tap out the beats of each portion of
music. The music sequences convert to many styles of
motions allowing the lights to perform in step with the beats. |
|
16) |
Where did you get
the idea to computerize your lights? |
Jerry, Edith, and Keith are members of a special
group of Christmas Light "geeks", called
Planet Christmas. The
organization consists of many Christmas light enthusiasts that
enjoy creating a winter wonderland of lights which they and
others enjoy watching. The organization holds conventions every
two years to gather new ideas, view products, and to learn more
about various decorating ideas to enhance lighting displays. |
|
17) |
If we
visit and wish to see the entire light show from beginning to
end, how long should we plan for? |
From beginning to end, the entire light show lasts 37 minutes.
If you desire to watch the entire show you may find it easier to
park on Ironstone Court or Pebble Court (just a tad up the road)
and walk down to the Ludy's to watch the show. On busy
nights, such as the week before Christmas and weekends, the line
of cars can get backed up. To allow everyone a chance to
see the lights, the Ludy traffic team will do their best to keep
it fair to all by keeping backed up cars moving after 2 or 3
songs. |
|
18) |
Are
you and images of your display available for an interview? |
Jerry is available for interviews with the media via the
"Contact Us" button. To obtain usage licensing for any
images on this website, please contact his daughter, Julie E.
Hedges, at
Julie@JEHedges.com or (706) 563-1761. |
