RAPID RIVER, Mich. (WZMQ) – On Saturday, Masonville Township Park transformed into a festive winter wonderland.
Despite its size, Lights in the Park is a relatively new tradition for the Rapid River Business Association.
“Lights in the Park started just after COVID as a gift to the community because there was a lot of blah stuff going on,” said Business Association member and Jack’s Restaurant Owner Bobbi Ryan. We backed people up nine miles on the highway, so there must’ve been a need that we didn’t even know about. The community really rallied up around it and it just grew and grew and grew, so here we are three years later.”
Guests can drive or take a tractor ride through the park, then warm up inside the pavilion. There, they can meet Santa Claus and purchase concessions.
Attendees will see some familiar names in lights along the path.
“We challenged other people to help us decorate the park, so we’ve got local businesses out there, like a mini light fight going on,” Ryan explained. “It just takes some of the pressure off the Business Association to do the entire thing, so we’re very grateful to the people that stepped up and decided to do that.”
With thousands of lights and more than 100 inflatables, Lights in the Park truly is a community effort.
“We were out of lights,” Ryan said. “I’m like, ‘How can we be out of lights?’ We’re grateful to people that donated at the last minute like Walmart, Tractor Supply, Meijer. There is miles and miles of extension cords. Thank God Mansonville got the power in this year, so we’re not running off generators.”
While it is a free event, the Rapid River Business Association is using Lights in the Park as an opportunity to give back. The community is invited to bring a donation for one of a few worthy causes.
“RRN is here tonight, we’re doing Stuff the Studio,” said Ryan. “Next week, it’s for our local food pantry, and we’re also taking donations for more lights but also for Honor Flight. So it’s community going into community going into community, which is awesome. It’s just a great get together, and I think people know that they can come here and pass onto the community very easily.”
Lights in the Park continues December 9, 15 – 16 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Click here for additional information.
