The founding partners of Illumination, Symphony of Light, Sigal and Ronny Urman took time out of their busy schedule to answer some questions about their business, Illumination, Symphony of Light. This is the second year for the drive-through animated light show in North Phoenix (the world’s largest!) and the first year for its additional location in Tempe. They are partners in the business with co-founders Yakir Urman and Simon Kreisberger.
Q: Please give us a little background on you, your business and why you decided to expand your real estate investment business into holiday entertainment?
A: For the past decade, we have been residing in the Phoenix area. We have been involved in the real estate industry for most of our adult lives and have really enjoyed most aspects of it.
Over the years, we had been approached by different people regarding investing in different business opportunities; however, this one really hit home to us. Immediately upon being pitched the idea, we knew this was something we would enjoy being a part of and most certainly something the community needed during the holiday season.
We took the initial idea of a holiday light show and decided that we wanted to do more than build the same old, run of the mill holiday light experience people had seen over and over.
We knew if we were going to associate our name with it, we wanted it to be the most technologically advanced show in the country. We wanted this to be something that people would not only enjoy but remember for their entire lives. We truly felt that if we were able to do this, we would create a new holiday tradition for the Valley.
Q: What have you enjoyed most about bringing Illumination to the Valley?
A: Without a doubt, our favorite part about bringing Illumination to the Valley has been seeing kids, adults and families simply smiling, singing and having fun and enjoying the holiday experience together!
We are very fortunate to be able to see the smiles, the laughs, the enjoyment nightly for nearly two months out of the year. At the end of the day, that truly does make all the hard work worth it.
Q: What has been the most challenging part of this business?
A: Any business is difficult, however incorporating so many unknowns of a new concept and doing something that had never been done before was certainly the most difficult aspect.
We had a vision of what we wanted to do and working hard to ensure that vision was accomplished has been tough.
We were fortunate enough to put together a top-notch team around us which has helped to make Illumination a success. This has been a total team effort from the beginning. From our initial vision to implementation, our team has worked together diligently to ensure everything went off as planned.
There have certainly been a lot of learning curves along the way, but we’ve been able to learn and adapt to each and every single roadblock.
Q: Do your friends find it amusing that you (as Israelis) are in this business?
A: The irony is certainly not lost on us. However, this light show is not about a single religion, ethnicity or anything else. It’s about us being able to provide a safe and fun event for friends and families to be able to enjoy during the hectic holiday season.
It’s really all about making lasting memories that will truly last a lifetime for so many of our Valley residents.
The team we have around us come from all different backgrounds and religions, each one of them has provided us with different perspectives and ideas based on their life experiences.
Q: Anything you would like to add?
A: We want people to know that Illumination is a place that friends and families can come out to and make lasting memories together.
Our first year included one show in North Phoenix. This year we were fortunate enough to add a second location in Tempe. We have a few things up our sleeves for next year that we are very excited about and can’t wait to unveil to the public.
The positive feedback we have received has been amazing throughout our first two years. We hope this is something we can continue providing to this wonderful community we are proud to call home!
Illumination, Symphony of Light displays are located in Phoenix at I-17 and Jomax and in Tempe at Tempe Diablo Stadium at 2200 W. Alameda Dr. Hours are 6-10 pm Sun-Thurs and 6-11 pm Fri-Sat and holidays. For more information, visit worldofillumination.com.
