Murray Bank’s Festival of Lights
The time of year everyone looks forward to is right on our doorsteps, where people have started stringing their homes with festive bright lights, eggnog is stocked on the shelves of every grocery store, and people have started bundling into thick knitted sweaters. In Murray, Kentucky, like most places around the world, it really is beginning to feel like the holidays.
One of the most memorable parts of the holidays in Murray is the Murray Bank Festival of Lights. Most Calloway and Murray students who grew up in this small college town can tell you that this annual event is a fun occasion to mark your calendar for.
The festival of lights is an event created by the community and put on for the community. For years now, our community has grouped together to put on this spectacular event. “I don’t think most people realize that the park lights are not in any way a professional event,” says local park director Ryan Yates. According to Yates, “This event is just an amazing group, getting together and putting this together for the people who live here.”
Yates says the park lights are sponsored by local businesses. With the help of these businesses and four generous locals, the festival of lights has been able to collect food and other resources for ten plus years. All these resources are then sent to local shelters or blessing boxes around town.
Hearing community members like Mr. Yates talk about yearlong traditions like the festival of lights is a smack-in-the-face wakeup call, reminding people every year of the holiday spirit that is still alive and well in Murray, Kentucky. Picture rows of cars lined up in the front of the park, ready to see bright twinkly lights. Families all throughout Murray and even other parts of Kentucky anxiously wait for the Murray lights to go up.
This tradition is truly a treasure in the eyes of our small town. Mr. Yates would like to credit this event to Steve Wilhelm, Latasha Shankle, Jason Stanley, and Aaron Zetterberg.
Our community owes this group a big thank you.
