Community Corner

Fox Road Holiday Display 'For All to Enjoy'

Montville man goes all out with moving Christmas scene as he has for 28 years.

Penguins, polar bears and elves come to life at 5 Fox Road when the sun sets in December.

Penguins ski. Polar bears decorate a gigantic Christmas tree. Elves build toys.

The elaborate, mechanical display is assembled by John Verona, a Montville Township man who started creating the displays on his front lawn 28 years ago when he moved to Montville Township with his family.

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An electrician by trade, Verona parlayed his decorating tradition into a business, Christmas Spectacular, that sells and installs Christmas displays to towns.

This year's display at 5 Fox Road took five men three days to assemble, plus another day of work for Verona, his wife, Candy Verona, said. The display has been entered into Patch's Deck the House contest, which is accepting submissions from 860 Patch sites around the U.S. Patch will pay the December electric bills of 24 finalists up to $500. One grand prize winner gets $100,000 for schools in their town. (You can see and vote for their video entry here.)

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Over the years, the Verona family tradition has become an annual destination for area residents. It once made headlines when it was vandalized in 1994. They offered a reward, but the vandals never were caught. The display now features purchased figures instead of homemade ones.

And two years ago, the display wasn't put up because contractors had to dig up their front yard. People started leaving notes, saying they missed the lights and hoped everything was all right.

Eventually, the Veronas put up a sign: "We'll be back next year."

Verona has two adult daughters who live in Roseland and some of the decorations are at their homes. One of them, Nicole Sabato, drew a carousel for one year's display that Verona cut from wood. His other daughter, Jacqueline DeMarco, said his grandchildren now enjoy the display.

"He loves to see everybody's faces and the kids get so excited," she said.

John Verona said he started the display for his family, but now he does it for everyone.

"I do it for the love of Christmas and for all to enjoy—especially the children," he said.


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