Festive Fairfield is a free, volunteer community project in Fairfield, Connecticut, organized by Richard Addotta. By signing up your home, you agree to these terms. They’re written in plain English. If anything is unclear, email festivefairfield@gmail.com.
1. Who can sign up
You must be an adult (18 or older) who lives at the home. You don’t need to own it: renters are welcome to sign up. If you rent, you’re responsible for making sure holiday lights and lawn hooks are allowed under your lease, HOA or building rules.
2. No guarantee of installation
We expand street by street as volunteers and supplies allow. Signing up does not guarantee installation: we confirm homes as we approve each street or area, and we’ll email you when your home is confirmed. Until then, you’re on our list of requests. Any dates we share are plans that may change because of weather, supplies or volunteer availability. We’ll mark dates as “tentative” or “confirmed.”
3. What we do
- Measure and mark your yard for the light layout.
- Place shepherd hooks or stakes in the lawn or beds.
- Connect lights to an existing outdoor outlet using outdoor-rated extension cords, splitters and timers.
- Install and test the lights.
- Maintain the display all season. If a light set, or part of one, goes out, let us know and we’ll come fix it as soon as we reasonably can.
- Remove everything after the season.
- Take photos of the outside of your home to plan and document the work.
4. What we ask of you
- Power: provide access to a working outdoor electrical outlet. You pay for the electricity the lights use (typically modest for LED lights on a timer).
- Access: allow volunteers onto the outside of your property (yard and exterior outlet only) at reasonable times during the season. We never need to enter your home.
- Tell us about hidden hazards such as irrigation lines, invisible pet fences, shallow wiring or landscape lighting, and anything else we should avoid.
- Leave the equipment in place and tell us if any lights go out or something is damaged or unplugged, by emailing festivefairfield@gmail.com. That’s how we know to come fix it.
5. Electrical safety
We use outdoor-rated LED lights and cords and plug into your existing outlet. We do not perform electrical work, open electrical boxes or change wiring. Outdoor outlets should be GFCI-protected and in good working order; that remains the responsibility of the resident (or the property owner, if you rent). If we see an outlet that looks unsafe, we won’t use it and will let you know. Our notes about your power setup are for planning only and are not an electrical inspection.
6. Equipment
All lights, hooks, stakes, cords, splitters and timers are owned by Richard Addotta, the organizer of Festive Fairfield, who purchases, maintains and stores them. They are loaned to your home for the holiday season only and never become the property of the resident or the property owner. We remove them after the season, usually in early January, and reuse them in future years. Please don’t remove, move, keep or reuse them yourself; if you need something moved, contact us.
7. Lawn signs
With your permission, we may place a small Festive Fairfield lawn sign in your yard during the season. You can ask us to remove it at any time.
8. Photos
We take photos of your home to plan and document the work. Photos taken from inside your yard (outlets, side or back yard, layout details) are kept private for our records. We may share photos of your lit display, taken from the street, on our website and social media. We’ll never include your name or contact details. If you’d prefer we don’t feature your home, email us and we’ll remove it.
9. Visit-the-lights map
Once your lights are installed, your home may appear on our public “Visit the lights” map as a lit marker at its location, without your house number, name or any other details. If you’d rather be left off the map, email us and we’ll remove it.
10. Communications
We’ll email you about your signup and installation progress. Text messages are optional and sent only if you opt in; see our SMS Terms. How we handle your information is described in our Privacy Policy.
11. Changing your mind
Participation is voluntary. You can withdraw at any time by emailing us, and we’ll remove the equipment as soon as we reasonably can. We may also decline or end an installation for any reason, including safety, access or supply limits.
12. Responsibility
Festive Fairfield is run by volunteers who take care to work safely and respectfully. Holiday lighting carries ordinary risks, such as minor lawn marks from hooks and stakes, and wear on cords from weather. To the extent permitted by law, you agree that Festive Fairfield, its organizer and volunteers are not responsible for minor lawn or landscaping disturbance, electricity costs, or damage caused by weather, third parties or the condition of your property or electrical system. Nothing in these terms limits responsibility for gross negligence or intentional misconduct. If something goes wrong, contact us right away and we will work with you in good faith to make it right.
13. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms between seasons. The current version is always posted here with its effective date.
Contact
Rich Addotta · festivefairfield@gmail.com