“Oh my God! It’s him!”
That’s why I love producing and directing Macy’s Downtown Dazzle.
For the past decade, I’ve been part of a talented team of professionals who have produced Macy’s Downtown Dazzle, a family-friendly holiday event on Cincinnati’s Fountain Square. The crowning moment of the event is an appearance by Santa, Rudolf, and two elves…on the roof of a Downtown Cincinnati office building. The foursome then rappels hundreds of feet down the side of the building, to the amazement of the crowds below. This is then capped by a beautifully bombastic fireworks display, which is produced by Cincinnati’s legendary Rozzi Family Fireworks.
While the show has changed only moderately over the years, it still remains fresh for me every time I count down to the first cue. Why?
“Oh my God! It’s him!”
That’s what a little girl screamed to her mother and father last week when our spotlights were trained on Santa waving from high above the Square. The same reaction happens every year, and it never gets old.
It’s amazing to think that, somewhere in Cincinnati, there’s a 16-year-old teenager who probably felt that same moment of overwhelming joy when we first brought Downtown Dazzle to life 10 years ago.
For the past decade, Dazzle has been my gift to me. It reminds me that the magic of the holidays is real. That, no matter how jaded I may become, there are little girls and boys who see Santa on that rooftop and are filled with an indescribable excitement.
I hope I have the privilege of counting down that cue for decades to come.
Tim Condron is president and creative director of Sparked Imaginations. The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily represent the positions, strategies or opinions of any other entity, business, client or employer.
© 2014 Timothy J. Condron