January 25, 2021 at 10:31 a.m.
Lights of the Northwoods caps off fourth year on a positive note
Three area food pantries, local organizations benefit from community donations
Lights of the Northwoods caps off fourth year on a positive note
By Stephanie Kuski-
"This year I'd say was a raving success given the pandemic," said Lights of the Northwoods president Don Hoppe.
"We had a very successful year as far as donations and money," echoed marketing and advertising director Joy Pollack. "We really set the bar high."
The group collected over 8,411 lbs of food donations that benefited the Rhinelander, Tomahawk and Elcho food pantries, which was a huge increase compared to last year's 3,500 lb total. Indeed, those food donations come at a crucial time since the ongoing pandemic has increased the need for many to patronize area food pantries.
Although Lights of the Northwoods did not host any indoor events, the group still collected close to $29,000 in monetary donations. Pollack noted the group collected more funds during the first weekend of the event than they had in last year's entire season.
Most of the monetary donations are divided among the sponsoring groups who helped during their core collection nights, which included the Rhinelander Lions Club, the Elcho and Rhinelander food pantries, Northern Edge figure skating team, Special Olympics, Rhinelander Masons, the Robotics Club, Printpack and the Rhinelander wrestling team.
The rest of the donations stay with the organization to fund necessary expenses to host the event, such as purchasing the lights, insurance and electricity.
Organizers thanked the community for their support. Lights of the Northwoods is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization that relies on community donations to put on the event, so this year's success will certainly go a long way in helping the holiday display become even better for years to come.
Hoppe said it made a big difference in their collection totals to extend the season from six core days to 17 days collecting monetary and food donations. Not only did the group garner more donations this way, but that also spread out its use so it was less crowded.
"There's no question that helped expand both the opportunity to donate and watch the lights as well as the actual amount we got in terms of donations, both food and monetary," Hoppe noted.
Local organizations and individuals who volunteered to help set up and tear down the display, as well as collect donations and direct traffic, were also instrumental to the success of the event, organizers said.
"This year was really gratifying," Hoppe said. "We had a lot of groups come out and we also had our regular volunteers."
This year, the holiday display featured a number of new additions, including several new displays - some even hand-crafted by community members - in addition to a tunnel of lights for vehicles to drive through upon entering the park. In a way, Hoppe said the COVID-related adjustments actually allowed the group to focus more on the lights and fireworks displays rather than the extra indoor activities they had hosted in years past.
"We learned a lot this year," he added.
Hoppe said their first year showing fireworks on New Years Day was also successful. He figured close to a thousand people attended the event. Organizers said their goal is to continue featuring fireworks in future years and will explore adding more interactive displays throughout the park.
Next year, Lights of the Northwoods organizers said they hope to extend the season once again and have the lights on outside of their core collection days. But in order to make that happen, the group will need more volunteers.
Since the organization's goal is to be bigger and brighter every year, that also means their costs have increased since their first year hosting the holiday display. Pollack said their goals for future years are to expand their volunteer base, consider how to sustain the organization for the long-term and work towards being more independent in the years ahead.
"We set the bar high so we need to keep at it," Pollack commented. "If we keep going at this pace, we're going to need more help from volunteers."
The group actually works year-round to put on the event, fixing lights and creating new displays throughout the summer for the event come winter. Since the event was so successful this year, their hope is to continue that momentum forward to next year.
Lights of the Northwoods welcomes interested individuals with a diverse range of skills and experiences. Volunteers can work on the lights, help with web design and make decisions about the event, among other tasks.
Those interested can become a member of the Lights of the Northwoods for $5 annually. Members are involved in the decision-making process, vote for appointed board members and help support the project year-round.
The organization is also looking for community feedback about this year's event. In an effort to collect critiques without meeting in person to avoid COVID contact, Lights of the Northwoods will offer an anonymous survey on their Facebook page asking the community for comments about the event and suggestions for what could be done better next year.
"We would love to hear feedback from the community - good, bad, ugly or what they'd like to see in the future," Pollack noted.
For more information about Lights of the Northwoods, follow their Facebook page, visit their website at lightsofthenorthwoods.com or email [email protected].
WEATHER SPONSORED BY
E-Editions
Latest News
E-Editions
Events
August
To Submit an Event Sign in first
Today's Events
No calendar events have been scheduled for today.
Comments:
You must login to comment.