1 min read ·
North Hills has become known for the lit grapevine balls in many of their trees during the holiday season. Originally the vision of North Hills developer, John Kane’s, wife, Willa, these balls have been a staple in North Hills holiday ambiance since at least 2004.
Southern Lights of Raleigh has been installing our Christmas lights since 2007, which includes but is not limited to the grapevine balls. Southern Lights’ Gerardo Sanchez Herrera is in charge of all of our lighting and, of course, takes special interest in our famous grapevine balls.
In fact, the work of wrapping the balls is tedious and time consuming. So much so that Gerardo trains new staff for exactly how it needs to be done to ensure the maximum number of lights per ball and even spacing. The wrapping starts in August or September for a late October or early November installation, and the installation takes almost a full week!
This year is of significant importance because these grapevine balls have been upgraded to energy efficient LED, a visibly noticeable change compared to last year. The change to LED will save over $2,000 each year in electricity.
The Six Forks Lassiter Mill corner is the prime spot for these lights as you can tell by the cover photo image. Walk through all of Midtown to see the stellar work by Gerardo and the full Southern Lights team.
