Grinches are at play in Reading. Vandals are striking the beloved "Christmas on the Mountain" display at Hillside Playground, pulling out light bulbs and cutting wires on a regular basis.
"Basically, every night there's something we have to come back and fix the next day," said Steve Ahrens, vice president, Hillside Playground Association.
The association began setting up the 23rd annual display in October and has already spent hundreds of dollars to replace damaged lights and decorations.
"[It happens] along fence lines, where it's not so conspicuous, and somebody goes past and cuts it or pulls a bulb out, you know. They can do it without nobody seeing it," said Ahrens.
Ahrens told 69 News that the display is free-to-enter and volunteer-driven. The decorations, which consist of holiday blow-ups and nearly 500,000 lights, are entirely funded by donations.
"We work all on donations. We all donate our time up here," said Ahrens.
"Very terrible," said Doreen Bartol, a Reading resident. "It's a place to go, it's free, the kids love it."
"A shame," said Marc Rosado. "Especially up there, it's really quiet, I don't know why they're doing that."
Another neighbor, speaking off-camera, said she was "distressed" to hear about the vandalism.
"Those people spend so much time and energy and money putting that display together and it's gorgeous," she said. "It's just a shame that people feel the need to destroy, and why? I hope they figure out who's doing it."
Ahrens said the display has faced varying degrees of vandalism for years now. He's contacted police in the past when the damage was more serious.
As for now, he simply hopes to see the vandalism die down, and in the meantime, he won't let a broken bulb break his holiday spirit.
"It gets frustrating," Ahrens said, "but when you see the kids' faces light up at night, it makes it all worthwhile."
"Christmas on the Mountain" is open from now until New Year's Eve from 5:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. Entry is free. Kids can get a photo taken with Santa for $6 until Christmas Eve.
from 69News:Home http://ift.tt/1B723X8
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