Christmas is the season of giving, and the Central Park light display began with a gift almost 20 years ago. “This will be our 18th year. It started in 1997,” Parks and Recreation Superintendent Larry Plummer said. N. Bruce Jr. and Ann Howe donated their Christmas display from Dream Lake. “We went out and got approximately $7,800 worth of donations to complement their display, and that was the first year we put it in Central Park,” Plummer recalled. Bruce Howe, 95, a lifelong resident of Winona Lake and Warsaw, died Oct. 9 this year. Plummer said the display is funded each year through donations. This year’s Silver sponsor is Maple Leaf Farms, and Bronze sponsors are Hodgepodge Consignments and Mark Skibowski Team/Remax Lakes. “The main thing that keeps it going is the concession trailer, which is ran by volunteers from Young Tiger Football. That generates funds each year, in between the $2,000 and $3,000 range, that allows us to buy new displays every year,” Plummer said. “We typically buy rope lighting, displays and things of that sort with that money. We’ve bought some LED lighting for the buildings in the past.” This year, he said there are approximately 200,000 lights. There’s the camel and manger scene, carolers, the Santa and the reindeer, 43 rope lighting figures, the LED lights and snowflakes on every pole. There’s even a Santa Claus stuck in the chimney. New this year are two toy soldiers seen as you go into the plaza area; Christmas light bulbs are all around the seating area in the plaza; and Santa Claus is loading a tractor along East Fort Wayne Street right by the plaza area. Plummer said putting up all the decorations takes about a month, with the kick-off officially taking place on the First Friday of December. About 10 Parks and Recreation Department employees not only put all the displays up, but also check every bulb and the rope lighting to make sure they work even before it’s installed. “A lot of man hours,” Plummer said. “... It’s just a great effort by our employees and support from the community, and volunteers from Young Tiger Football. It takes everyone donating their time and making an effort to make the display, and I just hope the public enjoys it. We sure enjoy watching them enjoy it.” All the work pays off though when visitors start making their way to the park. “The community just loves it. I’ve had nothing but good response for it,” Plummer said. He recalled being at a wholesale candy store the other day when a man he knows said to him, “Larry, we went to Disneyland and they had a donated Christmas (road) that was all Christmas lights. Don’t get me wrong, it was all beautiful. But it’s nothing like Central Park.” Plummer said comments like that make him feel great about the annual display. “We have people come from all over – different states, different towns, Fort Wayne, South Bend. A lot of compliments and the public just enjoys it. It’s a good family atmosphere,” he said. Each day Parks Dept. employees maintain the lights, turning the display on at 7 a.m. “Depending on the damage from vandalism or from the weather or just natural maintenance, we take care of that every morning to make sure the volume of the display is good and ready when it starts at 4 in the evening,” Plummer said. Over the years, including this year, vandalism has included cut strands. Light bulbs have been taken out of the restroom and smashed on the wall. But Plummer said there has not been “big vandalism” done to the display. The lights are on New Year’s Eve, and then shut off New Year’s morning until the next Christmas season, Plummer said. Recreation Director Sheila Wieringa said the Parks Dept.’s involvement on First Friday Dec. 4 will be from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. and is called “Light Up the Night.” “We will have volunteers and some of our recreation staff will be down here handing out glow necklaces while supplies last, just like last year,” Wieringa said. Santa and Mrs. Claus will come from downtown Warsaw to the park in the Twinkle Light Parade, which starts between 7 and 7:20 p.m., arriving at Central Park about 7:30 p.m. “Mr. and Mrs. Claus will just kind of be wandering through the park and handing out candy canes and meeting with children,” she said. Carolers from Jefferson and Eisenhower elementaries’ choirs will perform at 7:30 to 8 and 8 to 8:30 p.m. at the Glover Pavilion. The Christmas Countdown is just a week later, from 6 to 8 p.m. Dec. 11. The public can celebrate the holiday season with crafts, hot cocoa, cookies, music and more. Santa will make a special appearance at the event, so parents are encouraged to bring their camera to snap a picture of the kids. “This year we’re going to have a station where attendees can come and create a card, and we’re going to send those to soldiers,” Wieringa said. “So I think that’s a nice addition this year.” Children will all get a goodie bag. Gold Level Sponsorship is provided by Kosciusko Community Hospital. The Parks and Recreation Department is offering “Letters from Santa” again this year. Forms are available now in the park office or on its website at www.warsaw.in.gov, and letters must be received in the park office by Dec. 14. Cost is $2 per letter. Wieringa said as of Wednesday they already had a couple of letters in, but it just started Monday. Each letter from Santa is personalized, with details specific to that child provided on the form. In 2014, over 100 were received, the largest amount so far. “Each year we do it, it just gets bigger,” she said. Plummer said the Christmas activities came about approximately seven years ago. “The light display was up many years before we started doing the activities. As our recreation program grew, we were able to have the resources to allow some of these holiday events to happen,” Plummer said. Most people have a Christmas wish list. When asked what the Parks Department’s wish list was, Plummer said, “Every year we try to think of something new, and to make it a little different, whether that’s moving things around or buying new displays. But, it would be neat some year to have a huge Christmas tree in the middle of the park. A 50-footer or something like that, that just would be the center of all being out there. That’s the only thing I’ve ever thought of. We just haven’t figured out how to do it or how to pay for it.” Plummer invited the public to come out and see the light display. “Come and enjoy and spend time with your family. Get you a hot chocolate, a warm chocolate chip cookie and just have a good me,” he said. For more information or details, visit the city website at www.warsaw.in.gov, or facebook.com/warsawparks, or e-mail parksevents@warsaw.in.gov
