Christmas in the Park kicks off in spectacular fashion

By John Sharp

One of the Southland’s most well attended annual holiday events sponsored by the Jackson County Parks + Rec. Department extending through December 31 will kick off around Longview Lake Sunday November 23 with the one night 9th annual free Trip the Light Fantastic bike ride through the Christmas in the Park lighting display featuring 200 animated displays with over one million Christmas lights.

The 4.5-mile course around the lake will begin at the Frank White, Jr., softball complex on Longview Rd. west of its signalized intersection with View High Dr. and end southeast of the Metropolitan Community College Longview Campus.

The bike ride will last from 6 to 7 p.m., and experienced adult riders are encouraged to arrive a little early between 5:30 & 6, with families arriving by 6 or a little later. Persons should park their motor vehicles at the Longview Community Center parking lot just east of the entrance to the course.

Headlights and helmets are required for the ride since the course is dark and hilly, and parental discretion is advised for riders under the age of 10.

Two or three-wheeled bikes are permitted as are class 1 or 3 electric bikes, but throttled bikes, hover boards, motorized or electric scooters, tricycles or bikes with training wheels are not.

At the end of the ride complimentary coffee and hot chocolate will be available at the nearby Gusto Coffee Shop, 3390 SW Fascination Dr., and photos with Santa Claus will be available at the Bicycle Shack, 3365 Fascination Dr.

The next major event will be the 27th annual Christmas in the Sky stage show and fireworks display on Wednesday, November 26, at Longview Lake Beach, 11101 Raytown Rd., with the gates opening at 5, the holiday stage show starting at 6 and the fireworks synchronized to holiday music starting at 8.

Persons should look for the large Longview Beach sign on Raytown Rd. which is south of its intersection with Longview Rd. & entrance to the marina and north of its intersection with Harry Truman Rd.

The stage show will feature the cast of the Quality Hill Playhouse Christmas in Song performance, harpist Calvin Arsenia and about 100 dancers & singers from Monica’s School of Dance that have performed at the event since 1997, with Santa Claus arriving to present the first gift of Christmas to a child before the fireworks show.

Food trucks will be available for refreshments.

The night of the stage & fireworks shows also marks the first night of the county’s 38th annual Christmas in the Park animated holiday lighting display which persons may enter at the Frank White, Jr., softball complex and which has attracted over three million people since its inception.

The Christmas in the Park display is open every night through December 31, from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and from 5:30 to 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday.

The event is free, but participants are encouraged to make voluntary donations to assist area charities whose members volunteer to help with the drive-through event and receive $1,000 for their organizations.

Thanks to the generosity of patrons, over 1,000 area charities have received over $1.3 million since the event’s inception 38 years ago.

This year 36 charities are expected to participate. (I plan to participate as usual along with other volunteers from the Hickman Mills Educational Foundation on Thanksgiving night. The money we raise is used for scholarships for Ruskin High School seniors and grants for special projects not funded by the District’s budget to enhance student learning.)

To get to the Christmas in the Park display, persons may drive east on I-470 and turn south on Exit 5 for View High Dr. and go south on View High to Longview Rd. Due to construction at that exit, persons might want to consider getting on Raytown Rd., and driving east on 109th St. across the Longview Lake dam to get to View High and then turning south to Longview Rd.

Weeknights early in the season are typically less crowded than weekends and holidays, but traffic generally moves smoothly.

Learn more at www.makeyourdayhere.com.