December 13, 2017
Lighting up the holidays
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Holiday Guide
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School The annual Wentzville Holiday Night Lights display at Rotary Park features a mile of lights and a meet-and-greet with Santa.
Photo by Ray Rockwell
Annual light displays in O’Fallon and Wentzville help to make the season bright by hosting thousands of vehicles By Brett Auten When it comes to taking in the Christmas ambiance, area residents and visitors have two locations where the vibe is merry, and the lights are oh so bright. O’Fallon’s Zumwalt Park, located at 1000 Jessup Drive, is home to The Celebration of Lights, a holiday light display held at the park where each scene is designed and funded by local organizations, churches and businesses. In Wentzville, the annual Wentzville Holiday Night Lights display is up and running for the holiday season at Rotary Park, 2577 W. Meyer Rd. O’Fallon’s Celebration of Lights started in 1991 and it attracts more than 10,000 vehicles each year and more than 5,000 individuals during the Old-Fashioned Holiday Stroll. Festival Coordinator Jennifer Hoisington said it takes around nine weeks to pull everything together in time for its opening after Thanksgiving. In all, 13 nonprofits help operate the Celebration of Lights. With the help of boom lifts and construction crews consisting of park department employees, both full-time and seasonal, the park turns into a Christmas wonderland. Hoisington comes up with the bulk of the designs, some of which pop into her head in the middle of the night. Hoisington is quick
to credit the two other members of what she calls – in jest – a dangerous triangle, Bill Gardner, and Mark Crews. “I will sketch it out and say, ‘this is what we need to do,’” Hoisington said. “Then they take to a whole new, different level.” Some scenes along the path come and go while others are staples. “We try to keep the scenery on a rotation basis,” Hoisington said. “Some we retire or put to bed for a couple of years.” The upkeep is daily for the Celebration of Lights. Hoisington does an early-morning drive-through to see if the evening’s overnight winter weather has caused any pressing needs. Then, in the late afternoon, all of the lights are flipped, and the troubleshooting begins. Eyes begin to wander, looking for any pockets of burnt out lights. “Thanks to the squirrels, multiple strands need to be replaced every night,” she said. Along with the volunteers, maintenance workers are around once the cars start lining up to make their way through. “We’ve had a breaker go out before and an entire half of the park went black,” Hoisington said. General hours are Sunday, Tuesday through Thursday 6 – 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday: 6–10 p.m. For further information, visit www.ofallon.mo.us/celebration-
of-lights. At the Wentzville Holiday Night Lights display, visitors can enjoy a one-mile light show that features large illuminated commercial scenes and tunnels with twinkling, flashing lights. The display is open 5:30-9:30 p.m., from Dec. 14-30 (except for Christmas Day). Drive-thru admission is $8 for vehicles holding up to six passengers; $1 per additional passenger. To see the latest addition to the Wentzville Holiday Night Lights swing by the Kolb Building where Santa Claus is having a meet-and-greet. It is there where visitors will see the walkway of Christmas trees that debuted last year and have returned. “Various businesses have donated and set up their trees,” Christine Eifert, Special Events planner for the city of Wentzville Parks and Recreation Department, said. “It’s not just a cement room like it has been in the past. It has added to the décor and the ambiance. This holiday display is a great way to experience the magic and joy of a winter wonderland close to home.” You can also book a wintertime tractorpulled hayride through beautiful Rotary Park to tour the Holiday Night Lights. EifSee LIGHTS page 2
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