Christmastime in Garretson produces a sense of nostalgia. Lights on all the houses, a memory of experiencing wonder. Since Garretson is the City of Parks, the Garretson Parks Advisory Committee wanted to incorporate the parks into the holidays, and have opted to include the community in helping to light up Splitrock Park.
Grow Garretson and the Garretson Parks Advisory Committee teamed up to make this effort happen, and decorators are needed! Each person or team can claim a campsite or specific area of Splitrock Park and decorate it as much as they’d like.
“We thought it would be fun to have the community take ownership of something that has been requested before,” said Grow Garretson and GPAC member Carrie Moritz.
The idea and execution are simple, as each sponsor gets to decide how they want to decorate a specific spot in the park. With enough people coming together and claiming spots, the park will be a wonder to behold, and with any luck, says Moritz, it can become an annual event.
The price is right, too. Sponsoring a campsite is only $25, and the sponsor gets free reign in that spot, decorating to their heart’s content. All electrical campsites are available, and for anyone willing to bring in a generator, several of the tent sites on the south end of the park are available as well.
“Not just the campsites are available,” said Moritz. “We also want to encourage larger teams and businesses in town to get involved, because it would be a great team-building exercise. We’re also offering different areas of the park, like the entrance, at different investment points.”
The bathhouse, the playground, the picnic shelter, and the small bridge by the campsites are also available.
“Grow Garretson got involved, because the goal is to grow the community. What better way to encourage people to enjoy our little town than to give that sense of history come alive? The best thing about small towns is the ability to feel connected, and to be able to have a hand in changing things when you want something accomplished.”
Both organizations are expecting plenty of visitors to come through the park during the month of December to view the display, which will happen on Fridays and Saturdays starting November 29 and go through December 28. However, they plan to have opening night on Thursday, November 28, and are planning on a fun “Santa event” after the Parade of Lights on Saturday, December 14 as part of Hometown Christmas. None of this can happen without decorators.
All proceeds will be going toward the new picnic shelter that will be built by the playground at Splitrock Park. Decorators will be able to start on November 1, when the park will officially close to the public for the winter. To sign up or for more information, visit GrowGarretson.com or talk to a GPAC member.
