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.
2022
The End of a Tacky Lights Era
Sadly, after 51 years of having one of
Richmond's best Christmas lights displays, being
an early and common winner on the official Tacky
Lights tour, and raising over $175,000 for the
Virginia Home for Boys and Girls, this is the
last year Frank Hudak on Wistar Court will be
decorating. Frank won the first year of the tour
so our history runs deep. You'll be missed,
Frank! Learn why here!
2020
Tacky Lights in the Time of a Pandemic
As of early October most of Richmond's big
light houses will be decorating but one
long-time mainstay has decided for safety not to
decorate this year. Learn who here!
Richmond's List from the Times Dispatch
Some old, some new. Some lit, some not. All
with special Xmas pandemic rules. Here's this
year's list from the Times-Dispatch. Go ahead, take a look.
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