Marsha's Musings: Christmas Season Under Way

I can't believe how fast the time flies anymore. It's already Christmas season for us. The stores have their Christmas decorations out already.

My son and daughter are planning to volunteer today to help decorate Locomotive Park. The photos above are from year's past. This is S and her freind K.... This is a huge community thing. It generally takes three Saturdays to decorate it and many volunteer hours. Places donate hot chocolate and lunch for the volunteers each Saturday they decorate.

The finished project is fantastic. The Locomotive is all outlined in lights. All the trees are lighted from trunks up. The bigger trees at the center of the park are decorated with lights attached to sound so that when the music plays through the speakers in the trees the lights turn off an on to the beat of the music. There are also lights attached to the dance pad in the center of the park where people can dance to the music and as they dance the lights turn off and on to the beat of their dancing. That is great fun for the kids to figure what part of the dance pad makes what light strand work. Different parts work different lights.

There are archways to walk through that change color as you pass under them, and a big gas fireplace where you can go sit on the hearth and warm yourself if it is cold out. It is a favorite place to visit around the holidays.

The lighting of Locomotive park is a huge deal. Crowds of people show up and they have an hour or more of entertainment by local dance companies, school bands, choruses etc. After the entertainment then comes the big moment when the switch is flipped and all the lights come on. It's is a winter wonder land of color.