50 years of light and love on Spanktown Road
Warwick. After 50 years of lighting up the holidays, the Spanktown Road Christmas display celebrates its final season.
Warwick /
| 28 Dec 2022 | 04:44
2022 is the final year for the Poloniak’s light display at 22 Spanktown Road. Photo: Sammie Finch.
It takes five weeks -- and lots of helping hands -- for Warwick resident Vincent Poloniak to get the holiday light display set up outside his home each year. Photo: Sammie Finch.
Vincent Poloniak started the Spanktown Road holiday display 50 years ago, building figurines himself after his daughter requested Christmas decorations. Photo: Sammie Finch.
Poloniak with his 2022 Christmas lights. He aimed to make this year’s display the best yet. Photo: Sammie Finch.
Vincent with his daughter, Paula Poloniak Kammarada. Her request for Christmas decorations 50 years ago kicked off the epic, decades-long display at Spanktown Road. Photo: Sammie Finch.
Photo: Sammie Finch.
After 50 years of cultivating an unforgettable Christmas experience in the heart of Florida, Vincent Poloniak is turning off the lights of his annual holiday display for good.
“It’s getting harder and harder. It takes a village to put together,” Poloniak said. “I wish I could continue, but it’s just getting too difficult...I’ll really miss it.”
The tradition began half a century ago in 1972, when Poloniak’s daughter Paula asked her parents for Christmas decorations.
“She saw decorations out and asked, ‘Daddy why can’t we have Christmas decorations?’” recalled Poloniak. “So I went out and carved out a reindeer, a Santa, a sled and a snowman, then painted them up and put them out front.”
The collection grew each year as he continued to build more unique pieces.
Over the decades, the display evolved into a compelling experience for both the community and Poloniak family. By the 1990s, families near and far had heard about the Christmas lights on Spanktown Road. For many, a visit to the Poloniaks’ became a holiday tradition.
“We started going around seven years ago. We continued the tradition of going on Christmas Day when we had our daughters,” said Middletown resident Brittany Decker. “They loved it every time we went. It’s something we always look forward to as a family to cap off our Christmas celebration.”
The decorations take about five weeks to set up. Poloniak aimed to make the 2022 season the best display he has ever had, knowing this would be the final time he lights up Spanktown Rd.
To see the Poloniak holiday display, visit 22 Spanktown Road in Warwick, N.Y. The display is open daily from 4 p.m. - 9 p.m. until Jan. 2.
