The Keizer Miracle of Lights will illuminate the Gubser neighborhood for the 41st year starting Friday, Dec. 5, continuing from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. every night through Friday, Dec. 26. The event is not only a good-natured décor competition, but also a donation drive that funnels thousands of pound s of food to Marion Polk Food Share to help those in need.  “I think we can beat last year,” said Chelsea Straight, who has helped organize the display for four years. “So the goal is 16,000 pounds of food.” Dave Guile, a former elementary school principal in Keizer, recalls the event’s early years. He moved to Northeast 14th Avenue in 1984 with his wife, Norma, and his neighbors approached him about decorating their home in what was to become Gubser area’s signature style.  “We’ve just moved in,” Guile recalled. “So they said, ‘We’re gonna come down and help you.’” The decorating turned into a friendly competition between Guile and his neighbors.  Guile said five houses participated in the display in 1985. The neighbors included the Samples, Justice, Kaplan, and Govier families, according to Guile. “People started stopping by and asking us about the lights,” Guile said. “So then we said if people are gonna stop, we’ll put it out a food box … and they can donate food.” The lighting craze spread to other streets and by 1986, approximately 25 homes in the Gubser area were participating in the event that began as the Miracle on 14th Street. The partnership with the Food Share officially started in 1989, and that same year the Keizer Police Department started providing traffic control with “snow cops.” The cutout snowmen, dressed in police gear, were put on the roadside to regulate the growing flow of cars drawn to the display. The signs provide traffic direction to this day. According to Guile’s records, the light display raised approximately 1,435 pounds of food donations in 1989. That generosity has boomed over the years. Last year, the event raised around $30,000 and 16,000 pounds of food. Guile said that local residents embraced the event, fueling its success.  “Everybody just felt so good about the generosity of people going by,” he said. “And the fun we were having, the inter-neighborhood competition with one another.” Today, hundreds of houses participate in the Keizer Miracle of Lights. Spectators are encouraged to follow the map provided by the City of Keizer, showing a route that starts on Northeast 14th Avenue and winds through different streets before finishing at the end of Northeast Manzanita Street. People can also park in the Gubser Elementary School parking lot and walk the route. Street parking is discouraged by organizers and the Keizer Police Department, and visitors are urged to be courteous as residents come and go. The Marion Polk Food Share tent will be stationed on Northeast 14th Avenue, between Northeast Stone Hedge Court and Northeast Mistwood Drive, to collect food and cash donations. This year, 21 groups including churches, schools and community organizations have volunteered to run the tent through December.  Chelsea Straight began helping with the event in 2022 after she moved into the neighborhood with her family. She and other residents, in partnership with the City of Keizer and Gubser Neighborhood Association, start planning the event in September. John Moore and Patti Tischer are among the neighbors who help plan the event. Moore admits he was irritated by the light display when he first moved to the neighborhood around 20 years ago because of the traffic. “Finally, about seven years ago, I just decided, hey, I needed to just shift my attitude,” Moore said. With that, Moore decided to dress up in an elf suit and drive around the neighborhood on a motorized scooter – a shtick that he performs every year. Tischer says the generosity of Keizer residents is inspiring. “It is just overwhelming to see the amount and just the generosity of everybody that comes,” she said. “And it’s a tradition. I think that even if we stopped doing this, I think the cars would still come anyway.” This article was originally published in the Keizertimes, which shares ownership with Salem Reporter. Contact Editor Les Zaitz: [email protected]. News tip? Email [email protected]. A MOMENT MORE, PLEASE– If you found this story useful, consider subscribing to Salem Reporter if you don’t already. Work such as this, done by local professionals, depends on community support from subscribers. Please take a moment and sign up now – easy and secure: SUBSCRIBE. The post Keizer neighbors set to launch 2025 Miracle lights season appeared first on Salem Reporter. ...read more read less