{"id":297,"date":"2016-12-05T14:40:44","date_gmt":"2016-12-05T19:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/palmeravacationclub.com\/blog\/?p=297"},"modified":"2016-12-06T10:05:23","modified_gmt":"2016-12-06T15:05:23","slug":"dove-street","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/palmeravacationclub.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/dove-street\/","title":{"rendered":"Dove Street Festival of Lights on Hilton Head"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/h6>\r\nBy Blanche T. Sullivan, Contributor (@hhieditor)<\/em>\r\n

\u201cThe most tastefully tacky light display in the Southeast\u201d<\/h2>\r\nHilton Head Island, popular with vacationers year-round, is particularly festive during the holiday season and the Dove Street Festival of Lights, lovingly referred to as \u201cThe most tastefully tacky light display in the Southeast,\u201d is undoubtedly among the most beloved holiday traditions in the Lowcountry.\r\n\r\nThis spectacular expression of holiday spirit, which has been featured in USA Today and annually attracts hundreds to its newer and more spacious location at the Shelter Cove Towne Centre, began in 1990 as a simple stringing of lights in a charming little nook of a neighborhood on Hilton Head\u2019s North Forest Beach.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
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Courtesy of Dove Street Festival of Lights\u2122<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nAccording to Paul Beckler, who co-founded the display-turned-festival with wife Kristi and neighbor Rob Lolik, the Dove Street residents were inspired by a local family\u2019s happy news of adoption and celebratory lights and joined in by lighting up the street with their own decorations.\r\n\r\nSaid Beckler, \u201cRob used a telescoping pole to put the lights up higher. Later, he was able to get a cherry picker donated from Sunbelt Rentals. People came from around the community. Hilton Head High sent volunteers, PEP sent members who decorated and made cards, everyone had fun.\u201d\r\n\r\nNews of the impressive display spread and its popularity grew quickly.\r\n\r\n\u201cOne year, the entire choral group came from Miami University of Ohio,\u201d Beckler recalled. \u201cThey lined both sides of Dove Street and when they sang the windows vibrated. It was amazing.\u201d\r\n\r\nOne of the unique aspects of Dove Street was that the residents didn\u2019t only decorate their homes, they connected them to their neighbors\u2019 homes and created a magical twinkling tunnel of color and characters.\r\n\r\nSaid Beckler, \u201cIt wasn\u2019t just about the lights. It was about the ambiance, the community spirit. It\u2019s been 26 years since we first lit a bulb. A thousand cars later we were in USA Today. We simply outgrew our little street.\u201d\r\nTown of Hilton Head Island officials and community members came together to discuss potential venues for relocating the festival, as well as upgrading it for $35,000, but the festival\u2019s founders didn\u2019t want taxpayers to have to foot the bill.\r\n\r\nThe festival was put on hold for three years and then, in 2013, the Shelter Cove Towne Centre stepped up and offered to host the popular event.\r\n\r\n
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Courtesy of Dove Street Festival of Lights\u2122<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nAccording to Roni Allbritton, General Manager of the Shelter Cove Towne Centre, the center initially entered into a three-year agreement with the festival\u2019s founders, but the response has been so positive that she doesn\u2019t anticipate the festival relocating again.\r\n\r\nSaid Allbritton, \u201cIt will never replace the original festival, with its residential feel and people of Dove Street, but we wanted to give it a home and keep it alive.\u00a0 We wanted to create a place, with a Main Street feel, for the community to come together and have 100 percent support from the founders.\u201d\r\n\r\nAllbritton added that the 2016 festival will be more extensive and spirited than ever.\r\n\r\nShe said, \u201cWe had a lot of feedback on social media and people said they wanted that eclectic sense of Dove Street. This year we have more lights, more interactive characters, more spirit. I love it. Every time my family comes in for Thanksgiving, we go down to see the lights. It\u2019s a wonderful experience with great picture-taking opportunities.\u201d\r\n\r\n
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Courtesy of Dove Street Festival of Lights\u2122<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\nBecause philanthropy is an important festival component, Beckler trademarked the Dove Street Festival of Lights name so that it could only be used for charitable events. Since its inception, the festival has raised more than $120,000 for local charities, such as the Island Recreation Association and Programs for Exceptional People (PEP).\r\n\r\nIn addition to benefitting Island Rec and PEP, the 2016 festival will also benefit the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry\u2019s \u201cDisaster Recovery and Rebuilding Fund.\u201d The fund, which was established in 2004, is the town\u2019s designated disaster relief fund and will be instrumental in helping those devastated by Hurricane Matthew (October 2016).\r\n\r\nThose seeking an unforgettable family-friendly holiday experience will love the Dove Festival of Lights, which includes a 30-foot Christmas tree, charming characters, carolers, musicians, \u201csnow bubbles,\u201d decorated storefronts and more.\r\n\r\nThe 2016 Dove Street Festival of Lights runs November 19 \u2013 December 31, 2016, 6-10pm, with an official public lighting ceremony scheduled to take place at 6pm on December 6. Santa and Mrs. Claus will also greet visitors from 6-8pm on December 22 and 23.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nYou can find additional information about the Dove Street Festival of Lights, including a complete schedule of events, and the Shelter Cove Community by visiting <\/em>ShelterCoveTowneCentre.com<\/em><\/a> and<\/em> WelcometoShelterCove.com<\/em><\/a>. Learn about other Hilton Head festivals and events by visiting <\/em>HiltonHeadIsland.org<\/em><\/a>.<\/em>\r\n\r\n \r\n\t\t