It's that time of year again. With the drop in nighttime temperatures, one can begin feel the electric hint of the holiday season approaching. With the approach of the holiday season, comes the opening of this year's Lights of the Delta season.
The 22nd Annual Lights of the Delta will open at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 21 and run nightly through Tuesday, Dec. 27. The entrance fee this year will be $10 per vehicle, $25 for small buses and $50 for large busses. Tuesday nights will be half off on non-bus vehicles. Hours of operation will be 5:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5:30 p.m. until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Opening night will be their annual "Donation Night" where visitors are given free admittance with a donation of at least one toy and canned food. All toys will be given to the Ignite program and all canned food will be given to the Blytheville/Gosnell Food Pantry.
Santa will visit Monday night, dressed in casual attire, for the 2nd Annual "Grillin' with Santa". Barbeque champion Jackie Plunkett will be grilling free hot dogs and hamburgers. Also available will be soft drinks, chips, hot chocolate and popcorn.
This year's version of Light of the Delta will unveil two new displays. The first new display has been designed and created by Charles Moody and will be honoring the Future Farmers of America in the form of the FFA emblem. It will be located in Jingle Bell Park and is in appreciation of all the FFA volunteers over the years, including Ben and Melissa Rutherford, that have helped with Pictures with Santa.
The other new display is actually a redesign of a retired display from the past called "Love Thy Neighbor." Since 2001, the display had been sponsored by Hays Supermarkets and Mr. and Mrs. King approached the LOTD with ideas of how to improve the display and LOTD took those plans even further by doubling the size, adding features to the display and motorizing it.
Another of the primary goals of the LOTD over the past two seasons has been to upgrade Jingle Bell Park. Last year they added chat and this year they put up a new stage, a complete remodel of Santa's Workshop and added new displays.
"One of the things that has increased over the years is entertainment such as church groups, high school and junior high bands and school choirs. If anyone is interested in getting involved with providing entertainment, just call me or Entertainment Chairman Carl Ciaramitaro," Hubbard said.
"Hayrides are already being booked. We're booking them online only this year. We began booking online last year, but this year we're going only online. Also starting this year there is a $10 deposit required. But if you get rained out, the deposit will be refunded or you can reschedule," Hubbard said. "Hayrides are $30 Sunday through Thursday and $40 on Fridays and Saturdays."
Each trailer can accommodate 20 people and each tractor pulls two trailers; so if a group is larger than 20 people in size, make sure to request both trailers for the same tractor. All tractors will be provided by Baker Implement.
Another upgrade this year is improvements to the Souvenir Stand. The Stand will have a new hot chocolate dispenser and, thanks to Blytheville Winnelson who donated a 30-gallon hot water heater, the stand should be able to keep up with demand on even the busiest of nights.
"On the really busy nights we'd out run the hot water. Now we'll always have hot chocolate," Hubbard added.
Hubbard also said that the stand will continue to sell popcorn popped on site, including caramel popcorn, cheese popcorn and they are looking into getting a red and green Christmas Mix popcorn.
The LOTD is also selling a beautiful, new ornament this season that depicts last year's newest display "Nicholas Air".
Visitors that have been to LOTD every year are in for a treat, because a lot of the displays have been moved around.
"This allows people to see a different look that makes a different effect. But obviously some displays are more permanent than others, like the bouncy balls and Noah's Ark. They are pretty much stationary," Hubbard added.
But just because some aren't moveable, doesn't mean they won't be different. Hubbard said that one thing that many visitors don't notice, because of their excitement to get inside the gate, is that the first two displays (Old Glory and Old Tannenbaum) are set to music and are programmed to animate to that music. Likewise, some of the familiar displays have now been programmed to do things differently than in the past or to have a different look about them (for example Old Tannenbaum and the Bouncy Balls).
"We absolutely could not do this without our sponsors. It is they that allow us to keep our prices low and without them we could not be able to get new displays...we want everyone to be able to see the lights," Hubbard said.
One of the favorite aspects of a visit to the LOTD for children is having their picture taken with Santa. Hubbard said that two things that absolutely won't change is that the Pictures with Santa are done without charge (though the FFA does accept donations) and Santa will be as jolly as ever. He also added that one of their points of pride is that some families come to have their pictures with Santa made at the LOTD because their Santa's are so consistent.
Hubbard said there has also been some innovations and streamlining in regards to the hardwiring of cameras to printers at Santa's Workshop.
The ancillary events surrounding LOTD this year include the annual Light of the Delta 5K Twinkle Fun Run/Walk from 5:30 p.m. until 7 p.m. on Monday, November 28. The cost to enter for adults is $15 and $10 for children under-12. The entry fee includes a redesigned t-shirt for participants. There is no deadline for entry into the event, but to guarantee receiving a t-shirt in your size, it is highly recommended that you register early.
The Blytheville Emergency Squad will be present just in case of any problems. Also, the LOTD team will be pulling a trailer for those that get tired along the way and to pick up those at that end of the course for a return trip to their cars if they don't' feel like walking back.
Technically, in order for the course to be a genuine 5K, one must go through twice, but there is no requirement to do so. Neither is there a requirement to run. Hubbard said that many families come out with their cameras and strollers and just have fun leisurely walking.
Another event is the Miss Lights of the Delta Pageant/Lights of the Delta Outstanding Teen Pageant to be held at the Blytheville High School Auditorium on Saturday, November 26. The Miss Lights of the Delta Pageant is a preliminary pageant to the Miss Arkansas Pageant.
Hubbard said that 2014 was their record year, but they had terrific weather the entire season. Last year, he said, there were about five days that were lost to bad weather and/or flooding and flooding forced them to partially close a few additional days last year. Nevertheless crowds were great (including one Saturday that was their second largest day ever) and he is hoping for both good weather this year and more record crowds.
Hubbard also wanted to express his feelings about another change this year, though very sad indeed. The LOTD has suffered a great loss when Chuck Tice passed away on December 31. Hubbard said that Tice was a long time board member of 15-years that spent a great deal of time on-site, especially at his favorite place, Jingle Bell Park.
"Constantly concerned with safety, he was always there with his flashlight and to tell people to slow down. He wanted them to make sure they were aware of the children. He also made sure that there were handicapped areas and parking available," Hubbard said. "It's gong to be impossible to fill his shoes because he was that big a part of the Light of the Delta."
For more information about the Lights of the Delta, to book a hayride, to register for any of the events or just to look pictures from the past displays, visit www.lightsofthedelta.com.
thenry@blythevillecourier.com