No lights mean a bleaker Christmas on Hilton Head

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — The absence of a popular Christmas light show on Hilton Head Island means a darker, bleaker Christmas for some people.

The Island Packet of Hilton Head reports (http://bit.ly/uheqmN ) the Dove Street Festival of lights which featured 80,000 lights in one neighborhood ended last year. It became too expensive for residents and sponsors could not be found.

Last year the light show raised $12,000 for a local charity that provides money for rent and utilities for the working poor. This year, the Deep Well Project has collected only about 10 percent of that at its traditional collection point at a nearby shopping center.

The founders of the light festival hope the lights may return at a different location in the future.

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Information from: The Island Packet, http://www.islandpacket.com