All Aglow at Christmas at Tara

If you think Christmas in Florida doesn’t quite feel like Christmas, head over to Tara Plantation for a free drive-through light display that would make Clark Griswold green with envy. On the Sunday following Thanksgiving, Christmas at Tara comes to life with nearly 500,000 LED lights and 100 figures on the 5-acre Grall Law Group property, located at 7555 20th St., west of Vero Beach.

The annual holiday tradition is the brainchild of Bernie and Marge Grall, who moved to Vero Beach in 1975; in the ensuing years, Bernie built a law practice and the couple raised their eight children. In 1989, inspired by his love for the movie Gone with the Wind, Bernie built Tara Plantation to house his growing firm. At the time, the local Republican Women’s Club sponsored an annual Christmas show house, decorated by florists, which people toured for the benefit of a local charity.

“We got the idea that we could host it here, and we decorated the inside and outside of the building for 22 years,” says Marge. “We had 17 trees and a 300-house snow village. Soon, word got out and we started running buses from Central Assembly. It was incredible. We had thousands of people coming through … people in wheelchairs from nursing homes, people from retirement communities.”

“People who grew up in the North and raised their families have so many memories of Christmases gone by. When they come down here, it doesn’t seem like Christmas, but here it does,” comments Bernie, who was raised in West Palm Beach and received his law degree from Marquette University Law School in 1975.

When Bernie retired in 2012, he and Marge stopped decorating the inside of the building and started traveling and enjoying more time with their grandchildren. The family continued the outdoor portion of the display. Today, people entering the gates are greeted with a reminder to “Keep Christ in Christmas.” They tune in their car radios to the holiday music and drive a quarter mile around a small lake. Along the way, they are treated to lighted displays of religious and whimsical figures, many of which appear to move. Dancing gingerbread, a giant snow globe, waving snowmen, reindeer, dinosaurs, a whale sporting a Santa hat, a carousel, and a Ferris wheel are just some of the features.

“Some people go around several times,” says Marge, “and we often have volunteers handing out 3D glasses. Those are fun!”

“The sleigh with Santa and his reindeer, as well as the Nativity scene, were made years ago by local firefighter Steve Hayes,” explains Bernie. “He copied them from a coloring book.”

If you assume that this is all set up by professionals, think again. Two longtime groundskeepers and members of the Grall family all roll up their sleeves to pitch in. With eight children and their respective spouses plus 20 grandchildren, there are plenty of sleeves.

“The kids just know to show up,” says Bernie. “And when they’re here, we probably have 10 grandkids riding around the lake. The grandkids enjoy coming to help and seeing their cousins. That’s the good thing about it.”

For Bernie, however, Christmas at Tara is a year-round endeavor. He works all year to make sure lights work and the displays are in tip-top shape. “We can wrap the trees ahead of time, but we can’t put the figures out until the grass is cut the Monday before Thanksgiving. We have five days to set up the displays, and they must be staked down to withstand winds. It’s a fun thing, but it’s very physical.”

“We do this for the community,” says Bernie, who has a long history of community service in Indian River County as past president of United Way, St. Helen’s Parish Council, John Carroll High School Advisory Board, Little League Girls’ Softball, and Indian Princesses and Guides of Indian River County. “I coached girls’ softball for 15 years. All those kids come back with their children and their children’s children. We’ve seen three generations of some families come through.”

“Bernie’s dad used to play Santa Claus for kids in the West Palm community, so I think he got some of it from that,” smiles Marge, who hails from Nebraska and is active locally at St. John of the Cross Catholic Church. “I was one of seven, so Christmas was always a big deal.”

Judging from the number of cars backed up to enter Tara Plantation during December, Christmas is a big deal for many others as well. “We keep doing it because people say, ‘We’ve been coming to this for many years—it’s a holiday tradition,’” reflects Marge. “Our kids will try to carry it on. It’s a big commitment with their families and busy lives, but we’re gung ho behind them 100 percent.”

And if their children don’t want to continue Christmas at Tara? Perhaps Bernie will borrow a line from Clark Griswold: “Nobody’s leaving! Nobody’s walking out on this fun old-fashioned family Christmas! No, no. We’re all in this together!”

Christmas at Tara is open to the public through New Year’s Eve. The display is illuminated from sunset until 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. For more information about Christmas at Tara, visit gralllawgroup.com/christmas-at-tara.