This Tri-Cities home’s holiday light display is ‘Wicked’ good. How to visit it

Putting up holiday lights is an increasingly popular way to celebrate the season.

Whether you’re stringing up a few strands synced to music or installing a massive, interactive experience with moving parts, you can transform any home into a winter wonderland.

Each year, Tri-Citians come together to collect a list of homes with impressive light displays. Families drive throughout Tri-Cities to check out the best of the best during the holiday season.

This year, one of the most popular local displays in Tri-Cities is a “Wicked”-themed house in Kennewick, celebrating the new musical movie “Wicked: For Good.”

Who is behind the ‘Wicked’-themed holiday lights in Tri-Cities?

The home at 8001 West 10th Ave. in Kennewick belongs to the Gowey family: Jacob, his wife Amy, their 11-year-old son and their 7-year-old daughter.

Jacob and Amy have both lived in Tri-Cities for most of their lives. They moved into their house on 10th Ave. around Christmastime three years ago.

Growing up, neither of their families did extravagant light displays. However, Amy’s family always visited community light shows, like the Desert Plateau Luminaria in Pasco, the lighted boat parade off Clover Island and Kennewick’s Christmas Carol Lane.

Now as adults with their own children, they follow a Facebook page dedicated to sharing Christmas light displays across Tri-Cities, using the map to plan out family car rides.

In an interview with the Tri-City Herald, Amy likened the modern practice of installing holiday light displays to caroling traditions of the past.

“I think this is the modern version of Christmas caroling,” she said. “This is like a little gift to my neighborhood.”

This year, Jacob and Amy have installed an estimated 5,000 lights across their property, with a screen and projector supplementing the display.

Their house is decked out in pink and green, with nods to “Wicked” featured in the design, including silhouettes of witches Glinda and Elphaba.

When stopping by the home, you can change your car radio to 97.5 to connect to a custom playlist of “Wicked” songs synchronized to the lights.

How does Kennewick couple do custom light displays?

Creating holiday light displays is a dual endeavor for the Goweys, requiring both of their skillsets.

Amy comes up with the design concepts and playlist for the home’s light displays, while Jacob does the coordination programming and syncs the design with the radio station.

This is their first year doing a custom, themed displays.

Which outdoor light system does the family use?

The Goweys got the Govee permanent outdoor light system in 2024, but spent their first year with the setup getting used to the user interface.

They were inspired to switch to a Govee system due to the unreliability of standard outdoor lights and the laborious task of getting on the roof at the start and end of the holiday season.

The Goweys wanted something more high-quality, so they researched custom light display options.

The couple landed on the Govee system, thinking it’d be cooler overall and allow for easier changes throughout the holiday season.

Jacob said the coding is a bit more rigid than that of other systems, with less customization options, but made more sense for their purposes.

Amy tests design concepts with the Govee system, and Jacob coordinates the final designs.

He uses a Raspberry pi, a small device consisting of a series of single-board computers typically used for tech and engineering projects, to automate the design and keep things moving. This also connects the radio station to the display.

The screen and projector can’t be coordinated with the light design, but the Goweys are sure to keep it on theme.

In 2024, they had simple themes with classic Christmas music. From here on out, the plan is to keep using custom, themed designs.

What themes have been featured at 10th Avenue home?

The Govee system is fixed to the eaves of the home, and the Goweys turn it on in September. They program different themes through Easter.

So far this year, they’ve done themes inspired by Veterans Day, the movie “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and the fictional band HUNTR/X from Netflix’s “K-Pop Demon Hunters.”

The Govee system includes a social aspect, so other Govee users can upload their custom displays. The Goweys started the year with a design found on Govee, a “The Nightmare Before Christmas” display designed by another user.

The HUNTR/X design was their first original display.

Amy told the Herald the design took a while to get right. She spent a lot of time playing with the system and figuring out what works, going outside to test a concept, then going back inside to perfect it and try again.

Now that the displays are up, she has to design new concepts after 10 p.m., when the Goweys shut down the display for the night.

Design decisions are often based on what works with the system, she said.

At this point, Amy said she’s familiar with Govee’s limitations and can get a concept completed a little faster.

What inspired the ‘Wicked: For Good’ light display?

Since the Goweys normally switch designs for each holiday, the plan was originally a turkey theme for Thanksgiving. However, the release of “Wicked: For Good” hitting movie theaters on Nov. 21 ultimately became their inspiration.

The couple told the Herald they try to exclusively use themes anyone can appreciate, staying family-friendly with designs for all generations that aren’t too opinionated.

“Wicked” fits this criteria.

The Gowey’s 7-year-old daughter loves “Wicked,” they said, and their son appreciates the designs too.

“If I can get their attention, I know I can get other kids’ attention,” Amy said.

Beyond that, the couple has seen the “Wicked” musical in the theater three times, including the original production in the early 2000s starring Idina Menzel. The musical debuted the year the Goweys got married.

When can visitors check out ‘Wicked’ light display?

You can see the “Wicked: For Good”-inspired light show at 8001 West 10th Ave. in Kennewick from dusk to 10 p.m. daily.

Amy and Jacob say they see about a dozen or so cars per night at minimum.

Aside from the design work, Amy said her favorite part of the process is watching people come out and appreciate the display.

Jacob said he most appreciates when the hard work finally pays off and the concept fully comes together for the first time.

While the Goweys have plans to eventually switch out to a new theme, there’s no set date for this change, just “as inspiration strikes,” as Jacob told the Herald.

Visitors can stop by any time the design is on to check out the display.

The Goweys encourage visitors to pull into the driveway and park while viewing, especially if they switch their radio to 97.5 FM.

“We want people in our driveway,” Amy said.

Submit your holiday light display to our guide

Have a holly, jolly holiday light display?

The Herald is looking for homes and businesses in Benton and Franklin counties that go all-out when it comes to seasonal decorations — from laser light shows and dancing reindeer to snow-covered Christmas trees and fun inflatable snowmen.

To submit your home or business, fill out this form.

Using your submissions, the Herald will create a holiday lights guide featuring a map of the best displays across the Tri-Cities area, set to publish Monday, Dec. 1.

This story was originally published November 27, 2025 at 5:00 AM.