15th annual Festival of Lights swtiches on Thursday

December 12, 2011

Fifteen years and going strong.

The Festival of Lights at Comanche Trail Park will be turned on again starting Thursday and stay lit until Dec. 31.

“This all started as I was riding on a float in the parade one year and a lady asked me why they don’t light up the park,” Festival of Lights founder Pat Simmons said. “I don’t know who they are, but I told her I would look into it.”

With that one simple question, Simmons’ imagination ran wild and 15 years later her dream of little diamonds sparkling throughout the park have blossomed into 6-foot poinsettias, candy canes and more than a million lights spread throughout the park.

“My little diamonds turned into poinsettias, which make sense since the poinsettia is a holiday flower,” Simmons said.

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