PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — One year ago, Philadelphia’s iconic Boathouse Row got a $2.1 million investment into its lights that put on shows for all occasions year round. Friday night, there was a special light show to celebrate the anniversary.
“So this is the one-year birthday party for Boathouse Row lights,” said John Sigmund, master programmer of the lights and the director of partnerships and sponsorships at the Fairmount Park Conservancy.
“With this upgrade we did, it’s 6,400 LED lights that can do a total of 16 million different color combinations.”
Year round, the conservancy takes requests for individual light shows for a plethora of causes and celebrations. Sigmund said some highlights from the last year include a wedding and gender reveal.
“It also was the request that had me the most nervous,” Sigmund said of the reveal. “I was like, ‘I gotta get this one right,’ because I had the envelope brought to my desk and I knew it was a girl, but there was a lot of pressure on the line there.”
For the anniversary show, it was similar to the show a year ago that launched the new lights, beginning with a deep Kelly Green for the Eagles before showcasing pinks, reds, yellows, blues and a little sparkling of white to end.
Sigmund says he’s done requests for almost every Philly sports team to promote their seasons or playoff runs.
The most popular color?
“I’d be willing to bet the most common color was green… obviously, for the Eagles,” Sigmund said.