And this is why north american suburban neighbours in how they are designed suck IMO. You need a car to get around, even just to go get milk.

Suburban neighboorhoods should really be designed like communities with mixed density housing, small shops that you can walk to, pedestrians and cyclists trails that connect two points quicker in a shorter distance then by car. Mixed zonning for offices and businesses and nothing over 6 stories.

Designing suburbs like this would allow the density required for a tram line and mixed transportation modes. It would also potentially solve suburban sprawl that then compounds the "car is king" problem.

Everything mentioned above is possible, but requires people to accept a level of change.

Think how Amsterdam as a whole transformed its self starting in the 1970-1980 from a gridlocked "car is king" mentality to pedestrian and livability first approach.

https://www.fastcompany.com/3052699/these-historical-photos-show-how-amsterdam-turned-itself-into-a-bike-riders-paradise

Perhaps a designated area nearby where cars are expected to park and people and their family could walk to see the show could have been a solution.

If there's any space nearby that could reasonably hold, say, 50 parked cars. If there's a mall, or an office building that's empty at night, within a few blocks you could maybe make it work, but not in the middle of a large area of houses.

My guess is that there would still be problems, though, because it's cold outside in December and nobody seems to know how to dress for the weather anymore. They're using the cars as portable heat sources.

Once a hobby turns into a full time job it looses its meaning. Plus being hired means you are no longer your own boss.

Also, we seem to forget cities always cut budgets for things. It used to be the city may have decorated its streets with lights or setup decorations in public plazas. A city may have also had it's own light show, that diminised in quality year after year, now a distant memory due to skyrocketing costs.

There may have been public fireworks show or a puplic skate rink. All those things usually are the first to go in a effort to save cash when city funded.

This man was doing a economic service to his town in terms of tourism on his own dime.