That
was the official motto of Richmond, Virginia's Tacky
Xmas Decoration Contest and Grand Highly Illuminated House
Tour. Started in 1986 (it's all a blur of bright
lights and illuminated Santas), it quickly grew into a monster.
Dr. Frankenstein has nothing on us.
Photo by Stuart T. Wagner, courtesy
of the Richmond Times Dispatch
It began as a sneaky way to find out where the biggest, brightest,
and gaudiest Xmas decorations were. The first bus sold out
in four hours and a second one sold out the next day. Houses
were solicited; judges drove around drinking wine and rating
the houses in categories like Overall Wattage, Motion, Sound
Effects, the Holy Shit Factor, and Bad Acid Flashback; and
when the night of the tour came around there were an estimated
100 cars trailing behind the buses. Six made it all the way.
The winners received money, ornaments, and the tackiest trophies
imaginable.
Since then the lights have blossomed and the city of Richmond
has become obsessed with Xmas lights. Radio stations promote
charity bus tours, every limousine and bus company gives
paid tours, the TV stations show shots of the houses behind
the weather, and the newspaper prints weekly lists of the
houses. And more and more houses are putting up more and
more decorations.
Now that's a legacy to be proud of.
2019
How It All Started
A great article in Richmond Magazine by Harry Kollatz, Jr. abou tthe beginnings of Richmond's Tacky Xmas Decoration Contest and Grand Highly Illuminated House Tour, complete with old archive photos! Take a look!
House Beautiful Picks Richmond
In their list of the best light display in each state, most were about a specific display. Not for Virgina. Richmond as a city won! "You know a city has a lot to offer in the way of lights when it has tours dedicated not just to beautifully decorated homes but also to tacky ones. Each year the...residents go all-out to land a coveted spot on the list. What does that mean for you? Tons of Clark Griswold-style, over-the-top homes for you to take in and get into the Christmas spirit." Check it out.
Fodor's Travel Picks....Yes, Richmond!
Number 2 on their list of Most Bonkers Holiday Lights Displays in the United States, and one of the few listings that wasn't a specific display, "In Richmond, Virginia, tackiness isn’t just attempted, it’s achieved and celebrated. Each year, trolley and limo tours (with digital fireplaces and holiday music) take gawkers to some of the most outrageous displays in the city." Read it all here
And They're Off! I Mean, ON!
The Richmond lights
displays have kicked off, with new entries, old favorites, and a few taking a sabbatical. Find it all here.
2018
Richmond Family Magazine's History of Richmond Lights
An in-depth look at Richmond's love affair with lights, from Edison to the Tacky Xmas Decoration and Grand Highly Illuminated House Tour to the Tacky Light Run. Get lit here.
Photo Tour of Richmond's 2018 Best
Richmond.com presents a photo gallery of this year's top houses. And much much more! Lookie here.
2017
Richmond Times Dispatch Releases Their List For This Year
The 2017 list of Richmond's best houses with some new ones and a few classic ones taking the year off. Take a look and check 'em out!
The Fabulous Phifer House WINS "The Great Christmas Light Fight"!!
They were on the very first Tacky Xmas
Decoration Contest and Grand Highly Illuminated House Tour and won several times - maybe even the first year. Who remembers? Now they're bigger and better than ever and WON ABC's "The Great Christmas Light Fight" on ! Read all about it
2016
Richmond's #7 on Travel + Leisure's "Best Lights in the Country" List
"If you’re looking for fantastically tacky Christmas displays, Richmond takes the cake with its 'Tacky Lights Tour'." Not too shabby! Check it out (and the competition)
Long Time Tour House Win TV Light Competition!
Al and Esther Thompson, who have been decorating their house for over 40 years and are long-time Tacky Tour favorites, won $50,000 (!) by winning ABC's "The Great Christmas Light Fight."
2015
Tacky Light Tours: 30 years ago, Barry “Mad Dog” Gottlieb Changed Christmas in Richmond Forever
Style Weekly takes a flattering look at how it all started and what it's become.
It Isn't Even Veteran's Day Yet
Yes, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has already run an article, Out-of-town holiday fun both frosty and tacky, which includes a great, long section at the end about Richmond's Tacky Lights Tour with a nice history of the event.
Limos and Buses and Uber, Oh My!
In case the buses and limos and long lines of private cars wasn't enough, a group of Uber drivers in Richmond have banded together to give their own Uber Tacky Tour.
2014
Mom’s & Mad Dog’s Light Years Apart Holiday Tours of RIchmond
A great article by Tom Laughon about the two sides of Richmond lights.
A Drone's-eye View of Tacky Lights!
Richmond photographer Daryl Watkins used a drone to shoot video of Al and Esther Thompson’s at 9716 Wendhurst Drive in Henrico County, giving you a view of tacky lights like you've never seen. Story and the video here.
This Year's (Unofficial and Overly Complete) List
The most current, complete, and up-to-date list for 2014, courtesy of Richmond.com and the Richmond Times Dispatch.
2013
The Tacky Xmas Tour makes the Travel Channel!
Check out Xtreme Xmason the Travel Channel (also available On Demand and in reruns on Comcast and other cable networks) featuring the Tacky Xmas Tour, the Pfeiffers, Frank Hudak and more! (NOTE TO TRAVEL CHANNEL: It wasn't started as a joke, it was started as a lark.)
Famous on the West Coast too!
Richmond's Tacky Xmas Tour is prominently mentioned in an article in the Daily Titan, the newspaper at California State University, Fullerton, in an article about a highly illuminated house in town.
The (Unofficial) List for 2013
Here's richmond.com's list of the best houses to check out in Richmond for 2013.
2012
Natalie Handel of Agence France-Presse tells the world about Richmond being the Tacky Xmas Capital!
From
the bestseller "Black Notice" by Patricia Cornwell.
"I reached the Midlothian Turnpike and could see Marino's
house long before I got near it. His gaudy, outrageous
Christmas decorations, including some three hundred thousand
lights, glowed above the horizon like an amusement
park. All one had to do was follow the steady traffic heading
that way, because Marino's house had risen to number one
on Richmond's annual Christmas Tacky Tour. People couldn't
resist coming to see what was truly an amazing sight."
2011
Richmond’s Tacky Lights are featured on CBS Sunday Morning on Sunday, Dec. 18 because host Bill Geist says Richmond is the "tacky lights capital of the world.” (See their slide show!)
"Inspired by Richmond's Tacky Light Tour," Hampton Roads/Virginia Beach
Even
the Charleston, SC Post
and Courier liked the 2004 San Francisco list!
Read
Cynthia McMullen's 2004
article from the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Read
Bill McElway's cool 1996 article from
the Richmond Times Dispatch. Read
Cynthia McMullen's fun article
from the 1999 Richmond Times Dispatch
The 
Richmond’s Tacky Lights are featured on