The Holiday Festival of Lights is not just well known in the City of Frankfort and Clinton County. It’s known all over the State of Indiana and then some.
“We hover around a million lights all together,” said Frankfort Parks Superintendent Travis Sheets. “I say this is Indiana’s premier holiday light display. It really is.”
Held in the spacious TPA Park, this year marks the 27th year of the holiday extravaganza. It starts on Thanksgiving night and runs until January 1. Last year’s event drew over 100,000 vehicles and is expected to exceed that mark this year. One of the reasons for the expected increase in attendance is the fact that this event was featured on the cover of this year’s Indiana Travel and Tourism Guide.
Sheets said they have already received a ton of calls.
“It’s going to be very busy,” said Sheets. “We’ve done a couple of things to help tweak the traffic. We’ve backed Santa’s House up closer to the large restrooms and that gives a little better flow up toward the concession or center area if you will. Folks that want to go to the concession stand will have the opportunity to make a turn and exit the park without going through the entire display.”
One of the things that Sheets is extremely proud of is the fact the event is free of charge.
“Everybody else charges,” he said. “It’s $7 a person to go through some of the displays in Indianapolis. A lot of folks can’t afford to go out and pay $7 a person to do a family event. We’re all about family and we want people to be together. We want those relationships to become strong.
“So, we just ask for a donation,” Sheets continued. “So far, we’ve been able to support the Holiday Festival of Lights with just donations.”
This year’s event will have hours which are 6-11 p.m. each night through New Year’s Day. The reason for the change is the city is expected to pass an ordinance in December that will designate all parks in the city close at 11 p.m.
Sheets said a display like this takes about two-and-a-half to three months to do. He added there will be some new items.
“We have some walkway tunnels from the softball diamond down to the concession area,” said Sheets. “The reason for this is because we have some parking over that direction. Also, look for snow even when it’s not actually snowing outside. And while you’re in the Tunnel of Lights, there may be some bubbles floating around.”
Another new item is going up near the concession stand as Arkansas-based Ozark Kettle Corn is going to have a booth this year. They were a vendor at this year’s Indiana State Fair.
“We officially start Friday, but the lights will be on Thursday,” said Sheets. “We encourage all of Frankfort to come out early and beat the rush.”