Thanksgiving day is right around the corner, but with many people around North Carolina already decking the halls, it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Hanging Christmas lights, however, is not always easy — it can be the hardest part of decorating. That is where Patriot Illumination comes in.


What You Need To Know

  • Patriot Illumination does full-service Christmas light installation — from design and setup to teardown after the holidays

  • It's a veteran-owned business that has been installing Christmas lights for five years

  • Patriot Illumination gives back to the community with themed installation, free installations and more

“We provide a free custom design. We’ll install brand-new commercial-grade LED lights. We’ll provide them for the customer, custom-cut them for their house, put everything on a timer, maintain it throughout the season — if anything goes wrong we come back and fix it at no additional charge,” said JC Chanowsky, part owner of Patriot Illumination. “And then in January we come back, take everything down and store it in the warehouse for you.”

The Patriot Illumination team. (Photo: Natalie Mooney)

For Chanowsky and the rest of his crew, it’s a labor born out of love.

“Christmas has always been my favorite thing,” Chanowsky said. “Every Thanksgiving I’m out there, whether it’s in the snow in New York, or down here in the sun, out hanging Christmas lights.”

Chanowsky has a passion for serving his community—and his country.  

“In 2003, I enlisted in the Navy. In 2004, I set off to Guam. I was there for three years,” Chanowsky recelled. “In 2009, I came off active duty orders and went to the reserves and since 2009, I’ve been back and forth on active duty and the reserves and now still currently serving in the Navy reserves up in Raleigh.”

Patriot Illumination works on a massive Christmas display for a resident at Wrightsville Beach. (Photo: Natalie Mooney)

He and his team make sure to give back as much as they can.

“Our biggest thing is giving back to the community,” Chanowsky said. “We light up lights for our local schools, put Christmas lights up there every year. This year we gave free five breast cancer awareness houses we lit up for free with pink and white lights. We’ll do two houses for military veterans, one for a gold star family. We’re constantly giving back to the community as much as we can since they’re constantly giving to us."  

Even the Grinch is feeling the Christmas spirit. (Photo: Natalie Mooney)

Like anyone filled with Christmas spirit, the best part of the job for Chanowsky is making someone smile.

“Whether it’s just a neighbor coming home and had a bad day, couldn’t afford the Christmas lights, or somebody just driving by and knowing that somebody’s smiling and grateful for the lights,” said Chanowsky. “I know that when I drive by a house or my kids drive by and say, ‘Daddy look! That’s the house you did,’ it just makes me so happy and blessed.”

When the lights are finally lit, for Patriot Illumination, there’s nothing like it.

“It’s just thrilling to know that our team does so much for the community,” Chanowsky said. “And just being able to make Christmas that much better and the holidays that much more enjoyable for everybody, keeping everyone safe on the ground, the homeowners, while our crew up there and doing everything, it’s just wonderful.”

The completed Patriot Illumination installation is on display in Wrightsville Beach. (Photo: Natalie Mooney)

Patriot Illumination has been serving the community for the past five years. This year, they have over 200 projects lined up.

When they’re not hanging Christmas lights, they still keep houses spick and span with Cape Fear Pro Wash, a commercial and residential power wash service.  

You can learn more about their services here.