"Sandi" the world's only 600-ton sand Christmas Tree created by the city of West Palm Beach. This is the time of year to show appreciation for all the effort by municipalities to create festive holiday events for the public
When people think of Christmas and the Holiday Season, they usually think of families gathered in a cozy home around an inviting fireplace.
But what about all the fantastic holiday displays and events that your local parks and recreation departments, city crews and retail centers work so hard to put together every year?
The lights, decorations, parades and fireworks shows! These are big attractions in every community and take quite a bit of hard work by local parks and recreation crews to put together.
Most of these events are truly fantastic and a great excuse to get that family OUT of the house during the holidays.
Park holiday events have 90% participation rates
Here are just a few of them:
1. San Jose, CA, puts on a "Christmas in the Park" event that breaks records. It's true. The town recently gained a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most-illuminated Christmas trees - 600 of them during their holiday festival! There are more than 70 Christmas-related musical and animated exhibits and a 60-foot Community Giving Tree.
The event draws nearly half a million visitors to the park. Sure, it's expensive and time-consuming, but officials estimate it generates $13 million in visitor spending every year. The entire event is also FREE!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_in_the_Park_(San_Jose)
2. West Palm Beach, FL, speaking of trees, this city has an interesting twist on traditional Christmas trees. Instead of sleighs, they need trucks to create a gigantic Christmas tree made out of sand. About 600 tons of sand. The tree, appropriately named "Sandi," is covered with lights that are synchronized with an incredible music and light show. Other events include Reindeer Games Trivia Night, Gourmet to Go, Glow Fore It Mini Golf and Snowieville.
http://wpb.org/Departments/Waterfront/Community-Events/Sandi-Land/Sandi-Land/Events-(1)
3. Lee's Summit, MO, their Christmas in the Park includes 175 animated figures along with 300,000 lights. What makes this park unique is that you can drive through it. That's sure to be a delight to wide-eyed youngsters and smiling parents.
http://www.makeyourdayhere.com/318/Nov-22---Dec-31-Christmas-In-The-Park
4. The New York Botanical Garden has an interesting display they install every holiday season since 1992 - model trains that zip through a miniature landscape filled with replicas of New York City landmarks. Those mini sculptures are all made out of material from plants. Some of the landmarks include the Empire State Building, the Brooklyn Bridge and Yankee Stadium.
https://www.nybg.org/event/holiday-train-show/
5. After the holidays, the New York City Parks Department hosts another event called "MulchFest." This is when people bring their Christmas trees to the park where they will be chopped up into mulch chips and spread around the grouind during the year. How's that for a sustainable event?
https://www.nycgovparks.org/highlights/festivals/mulchfest
Even if your town can't bring in a boatload of sand or lights for a thousand Christmas trees, you can be sure the local parks and recs crew have done their best to make your spot festive for the holidays.
Holiday events like this take place both large and small all across America. The public loves them!
According to statistics from the National Recreation and Parks Association:
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Nearly 80% of Americans will attend a holiday event in their town.
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More than 90% of parents will bring their children to one of these events in their community
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The three most popular events -40% viewed holiday light displays; 32% attended holiday parades or festivals and 31% went to New Year's Eve fireworks displays.
Disneyland, DisneyWorld, Universal Studios, Six Flags and other theme parks go all out for the holidays as well.
The point is, lots of people work hard, long hours, oftentimes in frigid cold weather, to create an OUTDOOR holiday experience for families.
Show your appreciation by attending these events (and contributing if donations are requested). It would also be nice to send a kind note to your local parks and recreation department or put a note of thanks in the local newspaper. Gratitude goes a long way.
The staff at The Park and Facilities Catalog would also like to express our appreciation to all of our customers, website visitors and readers this past year.
Thank you for your support, sharing our content and ordering our selection of top-grade park benches, picnic tables, outdoor bike racks, aluminum bleachers and other
commercial site furnishings.
We have exciting product announcements and other developments planned for 2018. Keep in touch!
Happy Holidays!
Season's Greetings from the team at The Park and Facilities Catalo