Alek Komarnitsky of Lafayette is the “colonel” of Christmas displays, now that Kentucky Fried Chicken has named the father of two the nation’s top holiday lighter.
Komarnitsky’s 21,000-bulb display is not just the biggest, brightest show on the block, it also is interactive and raises cash to fight celiac disease, a gluten intolerance that afflicts Komarnitsky’s sons, Dirk, 10, and Kyle, 7.
The “Original Holiday Traditions” award was announced Monday, and Komarnitsky has already told Colonel Sanders’ people to send the $1,000 grand prize to the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research.
People can control the lights remotely from Komarnitsky’s website: .
And despite the display’s magnificence, Komarnitsky says the extra lights add less than $3 a day to his power bill.
“It’s totally worth it,” he said. “For the price of a double peppermint latte at Starbucks, I can spread Christmas cheer to all my neighbors and people around the world on the Internet.”
