Chehaw all lit up for Festival of Lights

ALBANY — With the holiday season well under way, Albany area residents and guests can take a journey through a holiday winter wonderland as Chehaw park opens its annual Festival of Lights display this weekend.

In what has become a yearly Christmastime tradition, the grounds of Chehaw will be decorated with thousands of festive light displays depicting winter themes like ice skating and snowmen, and holiday themes like the 12 Days of Christmas, in the weeks leading up to the holiday.

Beginning tomorrow at 7 p.m., visitors to the park can take a car ride through the light displays, which wind around the park’s central fields and into the zoo parking area. The cost per vehicle, regardless of occupancy, is $15 or $12 for Chehaw members during the festival’s “lights only” nights, of Dec. 2-4, 7-8 and 26-30.

“The 12 Days of Christmas displays are hands-down everyone’s favorite each year,” said Morgan Burnette, the park’s director of community engagement. “You can watch as people pull over and stop their vehicles at each individual display as they sing the song with their families before continuing to the next and doing it all over again. I think that’s probably our favorite part of Festival of Lights, bringing families together.”

In addition to the “lights only” nights, the park is hosting several “premium nights” Dec. 9 through Christmas Eve, which include a drive through the lights, access for children to a south Georgia snow pit, and various arts and crafts activities. The cost per vehicle for those nights is $17.50 for non-members and $12 for members.

Visitors to the Festival of Lights can also hitch a ride on the park’s Wiregrass Express and see light displays only visible on the train’s route. The train is available each night of the festival, and a ride ticket is $3. Holiday goodies, including hot chocolate with marshmallows, will also be for sale while folks wait for the train.

Burnette said, all of the Festival of Light displays were created by Chehaw employees and that park staffers start months in advance preparing everything for the monthlong celebration.

“Our guys have been working hard since October, setting up the hundreds of thousands of Christmas lights and displays that it takes to make Festival of Lights happen,” said Burnette. “I think a lot of people underestimate the amount of time and manpower it takes to get an event like this ready, especially when all of the lights are designed, created by hand and placed by Chehaw staff.

“They take great pride in making the displays different and enjoyable every year, and we take great pride in our staff and the finished experience.”

In addition to the lights and the snow pit activities, the festival will feature another holiday tradition when Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive for the first time during the holiday season at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 9. The pair will spend each of the premium nights at the park, mingling with guests free of charge.

Last year, event organizers started another annual tradition of using the Festival of Lights to raise money for area charities, something they will continue this year. The festival will open for a special, extra day on Wednesday from 6-9 p.m., and all money raised at the gate will go to each guest’s charity of choice.

“Our new favorite tradition is Charity Night,” said Burnette. “We are continuously looking at ways to give back to the community, and Charity Night is the perfect vehicle to give back. Instead of simply choosing a single charity or nonprofit to give a predetermined donation to, the community can actually drive this effort.

“What makes it even more exciting is that there are very few limitations to where this money can go. National and local charities are always a favorite, but we can also donate admissions toward things like ‘go fund me’ accounts. It’s amazing for us to see so many people turn out to support those in need.”

Following the Christmas holiday, the Festival of Lights displays can be seen one final time on New Year’s Day when the park will host the Dash Through the Dark run to benefit the park’s cycling community. Dash Through the Dark is a non-timed run of either one or two miles that begins at 7 p.m. The cost to participate is $10 per runner, and all proceeds go to benefit Chehaw Cycling and the park’s miles of trails.

To learn more about Chehaw and its other activities, visit www.chehaw.org or call (229) 430-5275.