The cameraman from the TV channel who visited to take pictures of the Christmas light display at Isidoros and Anna Bilarikis’ house in Brooklyn was disappointed.
“Do it quickly, because from time to time all the lights might be turned off because I did not pay the electricity bill,” Mr. Bilarikis told him as soon as he saw him getting ready on the opposite sidewalk. He hurried to grab and prepare the camera, but, he did not make it. The lights went out and he whispered in frustration that “we came for nothing.”
Isidoros Bilarikis laughed and pressed the button again on the small wireless device he had in his pocket. His house was lit up again with thousands of colorful lights, like a fairy tale.
This is not the first time that Bilarikis has made that joke when hundreds of tourists and other visitors arrive by bus and private cars every night outside his house to admire and photograph it. Sometimes he approaches wearing the famous red Santa Claus hat and many ask him to take a photo with them.
This year, Bilarikis decorated the exterior of the house, from the sidewalk, up to the windows, balconies and roof, with more than 320,000 colorful lights, he told The National Herald. “All these years, I have spent a fortune buying them,” he said with a laugh.
On December 3, he played the same joke on a Fox News crew, then on a German TV crew about a week later. The following night, a TV station helicopter flew for several hours over the illuminated house, taking pictures from all sides, and of the people who admired it and the cars that were lined up on the street. A British TV crew also covered the Christmas display. Live broadcasts were also done by the Hellenic Radio and Television (ERT), as well as the “Open” channel, Bilarikis said.
Years ago, the house was honored as the best light display in the area. The New York Times had written about it, and for three consecutive years published photos of his house at Christmas time.
The Bilarikis’ home is in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, at 7112 14th Avenue, between 71st and 72nd Streets. The area is well-known for elaborate annual Christmas displays.
Read more at thenationalherald.com
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