Christmas comes early, way early, in Rohnert Park

It is, in Rohnert Park, suddenly and unseasonably Christmas.

Weeks and weeks earlier than usual, groceryman-artist Scott Weaver has transformed his house and yard into a mind-blowingly intricate, Disney-inspired holiday castle and switched on its approximately 43,000 lights. It has the neighbors’ jack-o’-lanterns squinting.

“I’ve never gone to this extreme,” declared Weaver, restless creator also of the great toothpick sculpture of San Francisco that drew huge crowds at the 2008 Sonoma County Fair and now astonishes visitors to the Exploratorium.

Weaver, easily one of the world’s youngest 54-year-olds, did not assemble his ever-evolving Christmas display weeks before Halloween on a whim. Television beckoned.

Months back, he heard from a producer of the second season of an ABC reality show, “The Great Christmas Light Fight.” Would Weaver care to dress his house early this year, share it with a national TV audience and compete with 19 other home Christmas-scene creators from across America for a $50,000 prize?

Well, yeah.

On Sept. 17, a camera team arrived at the Cielo Circle home Weaver shares with his wife, Rochelle, and son, Tyler, to capture some “before” footage. Then, Weaver arranged three weeks of vacation from his job at the Lucky supermarket in Larkspur, and he and a small corps of helpers set to work building the Christmas display.

It typically takes a full month of eight-hour days to pull the many handmade plywood figures and other props from the attic, assemble and secure them in place, get the mechanical features such as the carousels and a waterfall working, set the lights and fill the bubble-maker, and make the legions of final adjustments. This year - national TV contest year - Weaver and his crew finished in 27 days.

“It’s the quickest I’ve ever set up, and it’s the most detailed I’ve ever done it,” he said.

He was pretty much ready when a film crew from Burbank-based FremantleMedia North America arrived Wednesday for two nights of shooting. Previously forbidden by his contract with ABC from talking about the show, Weaver was allowed to invite relatives, friends and neighbors to come scream and cheer and ooh-and-ahh as part of the audience.

Wednesday evening, the cul-de-sac off East Cotati Avenue and Snyder Lane morphed into an on-location set. A Rohnert Park police car blocked the opening to Cielo Circle. Production company staffers handed audience members agreements to sign and coached them in on-camera comportment.

Weaver, decked out in a Santa-red shirt and tie, flipped the switch and his house-turned-castle lit up like a Las Vegas casino in a fireworks finale within a nuclear blast.

Bathed in the light were 80-plus nutcrackers, too many candy canes and snowmen and sleighs to count and the incredibly authentic-looking ?figures of Dumbo, Ariel, Snow White, Tinker Bell, Simba, Aladdin, Peter Pan and the newest addition to Weaver’s cast, Anna of “Frozen.”

A copter-like drone bearing a wide-angle camera soared above the yard, then crept just feet off the ground. Wowed, Weaver said, “The footage I saw made my house look more spectacular than ever.”

A camera on a long boom rolled as the crowd projected its delight. The well-directed extras - “Don’t look into the cameras!” - also pulled out the stops for the arrival by limousine of “The Great Christmas Light Fight” judge Sabrina Soto.

The Cuban-American interior designer and HGTV host had Weaver feeling all the more grateful he’d agreed to compete on the show.

“She was not only gorgeous, she was so down to earth,” Weaver said. He said Soto asked him pointedly, “What are you doing in the grocery business?” and insisted he should be designing sets.

The shooting continued until 1:30 a.m. Thursday, then resumed that evening. Weaver said he was advised that Soto will return today long enough to tell him if he won - a revelation that Weaver almost certainly will be forbidden to share, lest the surprise be spoiled when the five-episode show airs in December.

Win or not, Weaver said that having a role in the TV production has been an absolute blast. With the filming finished, he has unplugged the lights and will keep them off until Dec. 1, his usual day to invite the public to come experience the castle.

Why would he invest such an enormous amount of time and effort in a Christmas display, and in the toothpick sculpture that attracted fans and media attention from around the world?

Weaver said it’s powerful and magical to watch a kid behold his Christmas castle or his toothpick opus, and to see the awe and wonder light up his or her eyes.

Beyond that, he added, it’s like what singer Peter Gabriel says: “Yes, I love to be loved.”

You can reach Chris Smith at ?521-5211 and chris.smith@press?democrat.com.