Bryan Brandau always loved traditional Christmas light displays. Over time, his efforts to make each year’s outdoor holiday display became more elaborate and larger and have continued to grow.
Christmas of 2020 marked the start of “Lights on Mushtown,” which has become a drive-by tradition with synchronized music each year since that is enjoyed by residents throughout the area. Brandau, a self-described techie at heart, vowed years ago he would someday produce a major Christmas light display like one he had seen earlier.
In 2019, he started planning for the next year, took the plunge, ordered the needed technical equipment and 10,000 lights.
“It’s grown every year,” Brandau said. “We now have over 60,000 lights.”
Needless to say, setup isn’t done on one nice Saturday afternoon before the snow starts to fly. Brandau said estimating total time spent on the project is difficult since much of the work happens throughout the year, from creating and printing 3-dimensional mounting brackets, adding lights to new props and updating the program sequencing in synchronizing the songs and lights.
Physical setup takes six to eight weeks to get everything connected, troubleshoot technical problems and handle repairs, he said, adding he mostly works on the light show on weekends due to his day job commitments, particularly after daylight savings time kicks in.
Brandau said the biggest project undertaken to date has included building a 19-foot snowflake which he constructed and had mounted in early October to make certain it worked and was windproof.
The massive light display burned bright for the first time on Nov. 28, but keeping it lit through Jan. 4 will keep the Prior Lake resident busy. Brandau said the project requires constant maintenance since when one light goes out, the entire string may need to be replaced. He checks everything every day and repairs are usually made with numb fingers due to the cold weather that has now set in.
“I do most of the work myself, but my kids and significant other help put the lights in the new props,” Brandau said. “The physical setup is not easy, so minus running to get me a cable or two, there is not a ton of setup the kids can help with. More importantly, they support me and the time it takes to make this happen.
“Even though it’s continued to grow, I’ve now said in the past two years that I’m not sure how much the show can grow because, physically, it’s getting to be too much,” Brandau added. “Otherwise, I’ll be setting up in July.”
Brandau said the community feedback he continues to receive each year has fueled the growth of the display. For him, it’s become so much more than just doing it for family members.
“The messages we receive, the cards in the mail written by kids, warm our hearts knowing we can bring joy, family memories and so much more to the community,” Brandau said. “When the show first started, the reaction was a little unexpected. I knew some people would stop and watch. But the way it’s grown, the comments, support and love has been truly surprising. I also need to give our neighbors a shoutout because they’ve been so supportive, even though the show brings a lot of traffic to the area.”
He adds that one of the most common questions asked is how much his electric bill jumps while the light show is live.
“At first it wasn’t even noticeable,” Brandau said. “Now it adds $30 to $40 a month. All of the lights are LED, they’re not all on at the same time and the show only runs during specific hours.”
When the lights are not on, the 19 controllers linked to the display use very little power, he said.
The “Lights on Mushtown” light show is located at 17881 Mushtown Road, Prior Lake. Lights will be on seven days a week from 5-11 p.m. through Jan. 4, 2026. Synchronized music can be found at 91.9 FM. Those coming to view the display are asked to turn headlights off when near the site but leave parking lights on.
