The Garden City Telegram
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Lights, caroling fill Stevens Park
Published 12/1/2008 in News
By SHAJIA AHMAD
Several residents joined in on the countdown at the request of Garden City Mayor David Crase.
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Laurie Sisk/Telegram — Reed Harp, 12, center, listens to the Salem Mennonite Church Choir during the tree lighting ceremonies at Stevens Park on Saturday with his cousins Benjamin Weisman, left, and William Weisman, both 11, who were visiting from Davis, Calif.
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Laurie Sisk/Telegram — Jeffrey Mesa, 3, is greeted by Santa during the tree lighting ceremony on Saturday night at Stevens Park.
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Laurie Sisk/Telegram — Members of the Salem Mennonite Choir entertain the crowd at the annual tree lighting celebration on Saturday night at Stevens Park.
"5...4...3...2...1...!"
Then, all eyes turned to the bright blue lights that colored Stevens Park and outlined its many tall and short trees, bare of any leaves this time of year.
Crase said he was honored to be able to light up the park for its patrons.
"Hopefully, I've pushed the right button," Crase joked afterwards, referring to his thoughts during the climatic moment before the park lit up with holiday lights.
Before the lights and as the evening sun disappeared overhead, members of the Salem Mennonite Choir raised their voices in unison, performing several Christmas carols from inside the park's band shell.
The choir -- 75 strong and with members of all generations -- ended its performance with "Silent Night," the popular Christmas carol originally written in the early 1800s and sung in German, known as "Stille Nacht."
Beverly Glass, executive director of Garden City Downtown Vision, said the gatherers went through at least 100 cups of warm hot chocolate, which were given away to warm hearts and hands throughout the night.
The attendance this year as compared to last year, said Glass, was much higher.
"We has a great turnout," she said. "And the choir was just incredible."
Dozens of volunteers, including several from the Kansas Children's Service League's Head Start program, helped wrap the park's trees with lights last weekend.
Stevens Park, located at the corner of Main and Pine streets, is named after one of the city's founders and Civil War veteran John A. Stevens. Stevens originally gave the land to the county for a permanent courthouse, but after citizens failed to vote bonds for a courthouse, it was designated as a public park. The park took hold in 1905, and the concrete band shell was added in 1931, replacing a wooden framed one. The cannon that rests at the park was originally aboard the battleship California during the Civil War.
As the park cleared following the tree lighting ceremony, Lisa Garcia was disappointed that she missed the moment by just 10 minutes.
To her luck, a red-suited Santa stuck around for a few minutes to pass out his last candy canes to the few remaining stragglers, including Garcia's three children.
"Can you tell Santa what you want for Christmas?" said Garcia to her 4-year-old daughter, Kaytlynn.
"I want to get a guitar," Kaytlynn said.
Santa gave the young girl some important advice as he handed her a small, striped candy cane.
"Make sure your mother knows that, too," he said and laughed.
The lights in Stevens Park will automatically shut off at midnight each night, to save energy, Crase said.
The lights will remain lit through the Christmas holiday.
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