Enchantment in the Park, a City of West Bend tradition since 2009 that draws more than 50,000 visits each year, returns to Regner Park at 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 27. The interactive holiday light show will run through Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24.
The festive annual event – organized, set up, operated and taken down by local community groups, from which nearly 800 volunteers will work more than 4,600 hours – raises money for local food pantries and other nonprofits.
In its first decade, Enchantment in the Park collected and donated more than 550,000 non-perishable food items to area food pantries and more than $240,000 to Washington County nonprofits around Washington County.
This year’s events includes a towering new Snoopy and Grinch and four additional eight-foot light bulbs, of which there are now 10. There are more than a million LED lights, making this one of the state’s biggest holiday light shows.
The first 10,000 visitors will get a free glow stick and Santa will be in attendance on the first three Thursdays, from 6 until 8 p.m.
Visitors can drive through the display or walk. Walkers are asked to social distance. There will be no indoor activities this year.
Horse and carriage rides will be available on Friday and Saturday nights, and are $5 per person for those 16 and up, and are first-come, first-serve. There will also be fire pits for roasting marshmallows.
“Our interactive light display is a great way for families to get outside and spend time together while practicing safe social distancing,” said Lori Yahr, executive director of Enchantment in the Park, in a statement. “We’re so happy to be back this year for some holiday fun while working toward the goal of supporting our communities around Washington County.”
A $10 cash donation per family and/or a donation of non-perishable food items are encouraged. Online donations can be made via credit card.
For more information on Enchantment in the Park, please visit enchantmentpark.org.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
