Fantasy Of Lights Overcomes Obstacles In 2021 Season
Blue Jacket’s Fantasy of Lights had its final car come through for 2021 on New Year’s Eve, finishing the second most successful attendance year in the event’s 27-year history. Over 27,300 cars drove through the month-and-a-half long event, nearly eclipsing last year’s record attendance and beating the previous record in 2018 by over 4,000 cars.
“This community blows us away, we are so grateful for their support of this growing event,” said Tony Hudson, Blue Jacket’s executive director and founder. Blue Jacket has run this event since 2015 and proceeds from this annual event go toward their programming geared to those who have barriers to employment.
Here are some highlights from this year’s event:
• 495 vehicles took advantage of special themed nights. Blue Jacket opened early for VIPs like teachers, front line workers/first responders, those who served in the military, providing free entrance with ID. Blue Jacket also offered patrons who decorated their cars in a Christmas theme or rode their motorcycles on a designated warm evening free entrance.
• 200 vehicles took advantage of the “Pay what you want” night with no expectations on entry fees. Some drivers gave $100 so other visitors could attend for free.
• Over 1,000 vehicles were blessed with free entrance because of the benevolence of other drivers offering a “pay it forward” donation. Sometimes after learning of their own free entry, vehicles would continue a “pay it forward” chain lasting over an hour.
• 2,300 runners and walkers attended Fort4Fitness’s 6th Annual Winter Wonder Dash held before official open over two evenings.
• 70 cyclists received a police escort mid-December through the 2-mile route on Blue Jacket’s 2nd annual “Bike Night” in partnership with Three Rivers Velo Sport.
• Over 2,000 dog treats were provided to 4-legged riders by partner Humane Fort Wayne.
• 15 – 30 minutes were cut from average wait times on moderate evenings as a result of pushing start time up by a half hour to 5:30 p.m.
• Allen County Commissioner Therese Brown, Mayor Tom Henry, Ex-officio Fantasy of Lights Leader Lynne Gilmore, Fort Wayne Parks Director Steve McDaniel, the Blue Jacket Board of Directors and Santa all helped Faithlynn Bruning and her family flip the oversized Shambaugh and Sons Light Switch, turning on the lights for the season. Her family won the honor on a Facebook contest weeks prior to the opening.
• 13 new displays were added, the largest increase in any given year.
• The 2nd Annual Christmas Village doubled in size to 22 vendors and an average of 1,000 nightly guests when open. The large Santa
Experience tent had many more activities for children and capped it off with a visit with Santa.
But the organization had to take the good with the bad, as Blue Jacket faced a number of obstacles this year. An unprecedented weather event on Dec. 10th brought 50+ mph winds and heavy rains that cut short the 2nd annual Christmas Village at Blue Jacket’s Fantasy of Lights, hosted mostly inside of tents. This devastated organizers who spent weeks setting it up. This was part of a system that saw deadly tornadoes rip through the southern Midwest. This forced the closure of the final 5 days of the Village, adjusting Santa and some of the vendors to the Pond Pavilion during those days.
Also, two bouts of vandalism occurred prior to the grand opening that forced staff and crews to scramble to make sure Fantasy of Lights was set to open on schedule. Blue Jacket leaders were challenged to walk out their mission of “righting wrongs” when blessed with the opportunity to catch the vandals the second time after being seen on security camera footage. The teenage vandals repaired some of the damage and even committed to helping more often.
“Many light festivals around the country are held on private property which controls exposure to risk, while ours is held in the highest-use public park in Fort Wayne, which comes with its share of challenges,” said Hudson. “I am grateful for the supportive (City of Fort Wayne) Parks and Recreation Department for working with us on the many issues we encountered.”
Blue Jacket’s Fantasy of Lights leaders are excited for next season. The closure of the Christmas Village allowed leaders to test street vending, in-car fun, and other out-of-the-car experiences to make a 2021 visit one to remember for years to come.
Blue Jacket’s mission is to provide training and opportunities to anyone with a barrier who is striving to earn gainful employment. The organization, which opened its doors in 2005, envisions that anyone with a barrier to employment will be restored with hope and provided capacity to obtain and retain employment because of Blue Jacket’s vast network and resources of support.
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