Famous Mandeville Christmas display goes dark - Hurricane woes and personal tragedy pause holiday magic

For the first time in three decades, the famous Christmas wonderland along Fairbanks Drive in Mandeville, Manchester, will go dark.

Fairbanks Drive usually bursts into a full-on Christmas village -- sparkling rooftops, twinkling trees, and thousands of lights dancing in the night. However, this year, the magic has been cancelled.

For Marcelle Fenton, one of the homeowners whose family has upheld the Christmas tradition for decades, not having the lights this year is a heartbreak wrapped inside an already-devastating year. She recalled being the victim of a crash on July 12, which turned her life upside down.

She explained that she had been driving when a passenger bus slammed her off the road. Her right arm was fractured, 16 ribs were broken, and she spent three months flat on her back, unable to do anything for herself. She said relatives had to feed and bathe her and take care of her every need.

"I am blessed to be alive, and so I have to be grateful," she told THE WEEKEND STAR. "I do physiotherapy twice a week because my back and hands are not fully recovered."

She noted that her own struggles were just a small piece of a much larger national hardship, pointing out that countless Jamaicans were also "picking up the pieces" after Hurricane Melissa's devastating impact.

"Thinking about how many people who are not going to enjoy Christmas because of the damage caused by the storm, we think it's selfish to flaunt what they don't have. The people who are coming to see the lights are those who were not badly affected," she said.

For years, the glowing Fairbanks provided holiday pilgrimage for many Jamaicans who journey to the well-lit Manchester community to admire the lights, which are normally switched on December 8 each year.

The Fentons' annual tradition inspired their neighbours, the Harrisons, who joined the festivities more than a decade ago. They are not lighting up, either.

This year's cancellation has disappointed the neighbourhood as much as the homeowners.

"Everybody is disappointed; I'm disappointed because I am a Christmas girl and I absolutely love Christmas lights," she shared.

"But it takes time and preparation that I couldn't do, and still can't manage to do," Fenton said.

She said people pass the houses daily hoping for a miracle switch-on.

"Every night you see multiple people passing, a come look fi see if the lights put up or if we start, because we would normally start already. They will be out here calling and asking when. Every other day I seh, 'Boy, I shoulda put them up'."

Her brother, who normally helps with the heavy work, can't manage either. Still, she fights to hold on to a sliver of the season -- a little tree in the corner, a few easy lights, small reminders of joy.

And even in her healing, she is packing donation items for storm-battered families in western Jamaica.

"Mi have life, mi have a roof over my head, and mi have food. Many people in western Jamaica have none of the three, and that's why we also have to focus on them."

Her husband, 81-year-old Garth Fenton, knew they had no choice but to keep the lights off this year.

"There are so many things that we considered and finally made the decision to not do the lighting this year," he said.

"She is just recovering. The hurricane worsened things, because people are strained now and will not do voluntary work. I cannot climb or do certain things like I normally do," Garth said.

He reasoned, further, that electricity in the area has been unstable since the hurricane, and this made the set-up unwise.

"JPS is having a difficult time and trying to restore electricity in other parishes, so I don't think we should abuse the power that many don't have," Garth said.

The disappointment, he knows, will stretch far beyond Mandeville.

"I know many people are looking forward to it, because I heard that people are coming from abroad to see the lights and get the experience, but it's just not working out," Garth said.

The display wasn't just a show -- it was tradition. Their wedding anniversary, December 8, was always the official switch-on day.

"It was my joy and pleasure to do it, especially for the kids," he said

For Fenton, the absence of Fairbanks Drive's Christmas magic feels symbolic of a wider national mood, as many Jamaicans continue to battle personal losses, rising costs, and the lingering scars of Hurricane Melissa.

She said "2025 is not a good year".

"Too much has happened that is not good. It's just one thing after the other," Fenton said, while holding on to the hope that brighter days -- and brighter Christmases -- will eventually return.