Christmas on the Creek - A History

It’s that time of the year again! Join Vision Lampasas, Lampasas Radio, and the Chamber of Commerce for Christmas on the Creek, today, December 9th, at WM Brook Park from 5 to 8 pm! The event will include: visits and photos with Santa, sleigh rides, playing in the snow (and maybe snowball fights, I hear!)  bounce animals in Santa’s barnyard, music and  strolling through the lights, free s’mores and hot chocolate, and   several other goodies to eat and drink! Admission is free and activities are free, and there will be some foods available for purchase. Vision Lampasas’ Dorinda and Dianna joined us in the studio yesterday morning to promote the event and give us a little history lesson on how it all came to be.

Prior to 2014, the City decorated the park with Santa’s Village, Twelve Days of Christmas and other lights. But eventually, a few locals thought, “MORE LIGHTS!”, and a fundraising campaign was started. Thus, the “Christmas on the Creek” committee was born! Year by year, the committee refurbished the City’s old props, redesigning and repainting buildings in Santa’s Village and the Twelve Days of Christmas cards, refurbished Santa’s big sleigh and reindeer, making a forest of Christmas trees, and even building a sleigh to offer rides in the park. Past fundraising by the Christmas on the Creek committee and by Vision Lampasas, along with generous support from the city, have allowed for larger and larger displays each year!

But nothing lasts forever, and that includes Christmas lights. The bulbs burn out and need to be replaced every year, which costs several thousand dollars. And now, more than just the bulbs need to be replaced, the wiring also needs to be brought up to date. You will see that the park is only half lit this year, as all working bulbs and wiring has had to be combined in one area, leaving the north side of the park without the canopy lights in the trees.

The original lighting cost almost $90,000 so after 10 years of inflation, you can imagine the current costs. To cover the expense, Vision Lampasas is launching the “Buy a Bulb” campaign, with the slogan “Buy a Bulb and Be the Light, Lampasas!” They are also  encouraging donations on their website, visionlampasas.org, via debit/credit card, and will have a donation booth at the Christmas on the Creek event. Alternatively, you can mail them a check or drop one off at the Chamber of Commerce, who will be happy to pass it along!

In addition, the Briggs, owners of My Girls, have generously allowed them space in their lobby to set up Total Solar Eclipse merchandise - t-shirts, stickers, note pads, calendars, coffee cups, and new items coming in all the time! All the proceeds from these items are going towards Christmas on the Creek.
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Donation or not, be sure not to miss this beloved Christmas spectacle, coming to you live and on the radio at KACQ 101.9FM and lampasasradio.com.