A Light Show Pivot - by Chelsea Diehl
The second I climbed back into my car, I googled the owner of Sandy Hill Maine.
How and why was an idea like this get generated? A longtime dream to produce an immersive light experience with over 2 million lights along the Piscataqua River? How does one first get interested in something like this? Is it a passion project? A pivot project?
If you haven’t read my book yet, that’s totally okay, of course. But spoiler alert: it’s not just about adventures in Maine. My personal story is woven throughout the pages - and while I pursue tangible adventures that you can as well, I also wind through a hefty amount of doubt, grief of leaving behind a job I once loved so very much and eventually, some acceptance of allowing myself to be more than one thing when I grow up (another spoiler alert: I’m fully grown-up.) A mid-life crisis, you might say, or perhaps, my own personal pivot project. Likely both.
Upon the book’s completion, two important realizations have continued to bear-hug me. First, and most importantly, the notion that we’re much more than our job titles and self-prescribed labels. That’s still a daily, lingering, echoing doubt in my brain that I attempt to quell - but after finishing the book, I’ve at least become extremely cognizant of it. I can be, and am, a Mom, author, occasional actress, amateur potter, etc. I have a long list of things I would still like to try and accomplish, temporary job labels to try on for size. How I generate joy, and income, can be from multiple streams without the need for me to justify (or validate) it. I’m finally getting comfy with that.
The second thing that revealed itself to me along the way: I love writing about people! More than anything else in the book, my most favorite part was interviewing people across the state and soaking in, and expanding upon, their personal stories. I discovered that I like to dig in deep, skip over the small talk and get right to reveling in their triumphs, their passions, their pivots.
And if you combine all of the above: a pivot story + hardworking folks from Maine + a tangible adventure = ding ding, that’s my idea of perfect writing (and reading) material.
The owner of Sandy Hill Farm, Bill Widi, knows a thing or two about pivots. I should say: I’ve never met him, never had a single conversation with him and have solely gathered this information from online article perusing (suffice to say there are plenty of articles, so I’m clearly not the only one curious about the founder.)
This year marks the 4th year of light show events at Sandy Hill. Sandy Hill Farm is, at it’s core, an active fruit, veggie, and flower farm in Eliot, Maine, that has been in Bill Widi’s family for generations. But it wasn’t until Bill was in his early 20s that he fully embraced his farming roots when life was suddenly, and sharply, put into perspective: at age 23 he was diagnosed with cancer.
A life-altering diagnosis that led him to what most of us need an entire lifetime to come to: now - right now - is the time to fervently pursue and chase the things you enjoy. For Bill, that was growing fruits and veggies. He’s been doing so now for years.
Cut to 2020, the world is shrouded in fear, and Bill (now 31) pivots again - to not only sustain his small business, but to help those in his community during quarantine. He opens his farmer’s market two months early, encourages customers to stay in their car as he loads in crisp veggies, and accepts donations to provide those in need with fresh produce. Bill and his staff matched the customer donations.
Registering the grief that comes with months of isolation on his customer’s faces and recalling his own separation from his family & friends during months of chemotherapy treatments - another idea begins to percolate.
What started as a modest way for folks to safely see family (and have a little fun) during the height of Covid, has grown to feature over 2 million lights with accompanying music on a one mile stroll through an enchanted forest. It takes roughly an hour to soak in the magic on the twinkly 14 acres of woodland at the farm.
Tickets are extremely reasonable price-wise (with staggered start-times to minimize crowds), the parking seamless and the trail easy and straightforward. You can enjoy the stroll at your own pace, taking time to stop and admire the intricate, inventive displays like the field of twinkly sunflowers, lit buoy sculptures, and a colorful mushroom patch. There’s a hot cocoa and apple cider hut at the beginning of the trail - a perfect, warm treat to accompany you on a winter night.
I’m a sucker for backstory, for the why, for the initial spark of a dream. How people discover their passions, the lengths they take to foster them and the resilience they summon. You should visit Winter Wonders at Sandy Hill this year, because, well, it’s awesome and the perfect kick-off to the holidays - but also, to quite literally, be showered in sparkling light, a manifestation of someone’s cultivated passion.
Perhaps, your pivot project, that tucked away passion for the perfect someday, could have some light shed on it this year too. I hope, for you and me, that I get to read about it soon.
Pssst: If you live near Camden, Maine, I will be at The Norumbega today (Friday, 12/1) from 2PM-5:30PM for their Pop-Up Holiday Market! Please pop in & say hi!
As promised…
from local Maine Makers
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