Downsview family light show raises money for Sick Kids

DA-site-IMGS-dividerBy David RosCRHISTMAS-1-DEC14 It's a holiday tradition here in Downsview.For the past 15 years, every night as soon as the sun goes down during the holiday season, 165 Benjamin Boake Trail comes to life with an amazing show of lights.Nearly every inch of the front of Amatore and Pat DeSario's property is covered with Christmas lights and decorations. There are Santas, snowmen, Christmas trees, a nativity scene and various messages of holiday cheer.Putting together this display on a yearly basis has been a labour of love for the DeSarios. Getting it ready for the holiday season takes hundreds of hours of work and requires them to begin putting it together during the last week of September.CHRISTMAS-3-DEC14“Most people think we hire somebody [to install the Christmas display], but, in fact, it's just my husband and I,” Pat said.When the DeSarios started installing their Christmas display, they noticed that people were coming from all around to admire it. With this in mind, they decided to use this as an opportunity to raise money for the Hospital for Sick Children.Their daughter had been diagnosed with type I diabetes and had been treated at Sick Kids during her youth, so Pat said that they wanted to give back to the hospital that had helped their daughter so much.“I'm blown away at how much work [the DeSarios] put into this every year and it's just such an amazing display,” said Connie Bleeker, an events associate for Sick Kids hospital. “I've seen pictures of it, but they just don't do it justice and I encourage everyone to come here in person and see it for themselves.”In front of the display, the DeSarios have a box where people can make a cash or cheque, which they will deliver to the Hospital for Sick Children in February. Over the past 15 years, they have raised more than $100,000 for the hospital.When they started, Pat said that this was something they never thought would be possible even in their wildest dreams.Mark Adler, the Conservative MP for York Centre, said that he lives in the area and that he took his own kids to see the display even before he was elected to office.CHRISTMAS-4-DEC14“This is about community coming together for a great cause to help Sick Kids Hospital,” Adler said. “People come from far and wide to see this wonderful display, and it's such an amazing community event.”Last year, while the DeSarios were on vacation, a gust of wind took down their entire display and for a brief moment, they had considered calling it quits.“When we did come back from our holiday, the whole structure came down and [Amatore] says you know, why do this and look at what's happening, let's take a rest, and just out of the blue, God tells you that you have to do this,” Pat said. “he next day, I got that letter in the mail, and when we read it it just brought tears to our eyes, and we said, ok, we have to do it.”Pat said that she and her husband have already made plans to go to the States to look at adding to their collection for next year.