Dinosaurs, dragons and swans will launch the Christmas season on Thanksgiving night when city officials throw the switch on the annual Holiday Festival of Lights.
Thousands of lights on sculpted creatures will turn Canyon View Park into a holiday wonderland, mixing the traditional with the nontraditional. The light sculptures include a skiers, huge candy canes and a Christmas toyland.Organized three years ago, the annual event is becoming a tradition for Spanish Fork. Cars follow a route that takes them past and under dozens of displays, while Christmas music echoes through the park. The Utah State Recreation Department has designated it as the program of the year.
The $25,000 event included three contests for children, six of whom received bicycles at a special preview Monday night. The bicycles cost taxpayers about $140 each, but Assistant City Manager Mary-Clare Maslyn said the costs may be offset by gate receipts.
Last year's budget for the event was $180,000, but that included paying off the displays and buying new ones for this year. The gate receipts last year were about $10,000, said Maslyn.
Meanwhile, the city has hired Soter and Associates, a Provo advertising and public relations firm, to promote the festival and other city events next year. Maslyn said the agency's fee will be based on a percentage.
The light festival contests were held throughout the Nebo School District from kindergarten through the fifth grade. The first was a toyland coloring contest, which yielded six first place winners who received the bicycles.
The second contest was to name the four dinosaurs at the Festival of Lights, with four winners. Winning entries were Ziggy, Jingle, Tud and Chomper.
The festival is near the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon. It begins Thanksgiving evening and continues through New Year's Day. Admission is $5 per carload and $20 per busload.
To reach the festival, take I-15 to Spanish Fork exit 261. Drive east about five miles and turn right at the Little Acorn Drive-In. Then drive a quarter mile to the site. For information, call 798-5000.