Christmas Lights, Carriage Rides, Concession Stand In Central Park
Posted
Jennifer Peryam-jperyam@timesuniononline.com
The kick-off of Christmas lights in Central Park will be Dec. 3 and the lights will remain on through Jan. 1.
There will be approximately 250,000 Christmas lights in the park, according to Warsaw Parks Superintendent Jon Garber.
The lights will be on from 5 to 10 p.m. nightly.
The displays that were up in previous years will be available again this year. Many of the display lights were donated years ago from Bruce Howe.
However, over the years many of the lights have been replaced through park department purchases, and most of the displays have been purchased through donations to Warsaw Parks Department.
The light displays include lighted Christmas trees, waving Santas, elves filling Santa bags, Santa's sleigh being pulled by Rudolph and other reindeer, carolers, a nativity scene, skating rink with skater and light pole displays. Holiday music will be played throughout the display hours.
New to this year, made possible through donations from Kohl's, Goshen Health System, Grossnickle Eye Center and Young Tiger Football, include eight new LED snow flakes (pole decorations), girl rolling a snow ball, a penguin in a skating display, animated man in a sleigh with a horse and a waving snowman.
Young Tigers Football again will have its concession stand in the southwest corner of the Indiana Street parking lot.
The concession stand will be open from 5 to 10 p.m. during the light displays. However, the concession stand will be closed Christmas Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.
There will be hot coffee, hot chocolate and popcorn for sale.
Proceeds go toward the purchase of additional light displays for next year.
Carriage rides will be Dec. 10 and 17 from 6 to 9 p.m. The rides will be at Center Lake in Central Park on the streets that run next to the displays.
The cost for tickets is $5 per person per ride, with children 2 and under riding free. The carriages are set up to hold four to six people so individuals may be paired up with others.
A free Christmas Countdown will be Dec. 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Center Lake Pavilion.
Santa will be on hand to greet children and families, but families should bring their own camera for photos.
Children will have the opportunity to pet and interact with live reindeer, enjoy treats and make holiday crafts.
Attendees are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items that will meet the needs of local elementary schools.
Christmas Countdown is sponsored by Beacon Credit Union.
