Do you want to take your little one for a rad daddy/daughter date or some father/son fun? My family found one of the coolest FREE* Christmas light display in Highland, maybe even all of Utah county.

Christmas Lights for a Cure has been displaying their lavish lights since 2015. You can view them at 11671 Granite Flats Rd, Highland UT 84003. Tune your radio to 87.9 FM for family-friendly music to match the season, synced to the lights and ranging from a cool, smooth Jazz to Disney's famed princess Elsa (Frozen) to Rock and Roll (Trans-Siberian Orchestra). If your little one is easily distracted by bright, shiny, or noisy experiences, they will LOVE this Christmas light extravaganza.

More than just an enjoyable activity for the family, Christmas Lights for a Cure, organized by Brandi Stewart, operates to support the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). Her daughter, Katherine, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at a young age and the Stewart family credits JDRF with quality of life improvements deriving from new technology that helps Katherine, and others with Type 1 diabetes, manage their daily life by tracking and managing blood sugar levels.

According to the JDRF website:

JDRF is the leading global organization funding type 1 diabetes (T1D) research. Our strength lies in our exclusive focus and singular influence on the worldwide effort to end T1D.

Vision: A world without type 1 diabetes

Mission: Improving lives today and tomorrow by accelerating life-changing breakthroughs to cure, prevent and treat T1D and its complications

*If you enjoy the light show, please donate $5 or more. The time and effort it takes to set this light show up should not go unappreciated. Donate through Venmo @CLFAC or online here.

Here is a local news story from KSL that I found, published in 2023, with more detailed information on the reason behind CLFAC:

HIGHLAND, Utah — A light show in one Highland neighborhood hopes to bring not only holiday spirit, but awareness to a good cause.

‘Christmas Lights for a Cure’ was organized by Brandi Stewart, the mother of a Type 1 Diabetic.

Her daughter Katherine was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes when she was five years old.

Now at age 18, she helps her dad set up the light show at her home each year, putting on the event to raise money towards JDRF, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

“No one really sees the daily battle that I feel like having diabetes is because every day is different,” explained Stewart, “One day, I might go low several times and then the next day I go high the whole day and there's no change.”

Stewart said over the years, technology has made a huge difference in her daily life when it comes to tracking and managing her blood sugars.

“It obviously helps make my life and many other diabetics lives easier,” she said.

Brandi describes one of the newer, sometimes life-saving devices that has come out since Katherine was diagnosed.

“So she wears what’s called a CGM. It’s a ‘continuous glucose monitor,’ and it goes on her arm and it updates her phone every five minutes to tell us her blood sugar,” said Brandi, “And I also have the app on my phone and my husband has it so we can track her even when we're not with her.”

Market Director for the Mountain West Chapter of JDRF Mike Somers said events like this one go a long way in helping with research for Type 1 Diabetes.

“Everything that you probably saw that Katherine was wearing is because of great events like this, of families that use every effort they can to fund cures and to raise money,” said Somers.

The light show will continue shining each night at 11671 Granite Flats Road in Highland, Utah.

You can donate through Venmo @CLFAC or online HERE.

I am glad to see the local news publishing about positive events like CLFAC.