Lights of the Northwoods set to delight visitors for another year

Evening visitors to Hodag Park in Rhinelander will be greeted with well over a million lights, starting Dec. 1, according to Lights of the Northwoods member Mike Romportl. There are many new displays this year, as the event continues to grow. Some of those are on a board display and others are traditional wire frame displays. There is also a new display for the gingerbread people, which is now on the north end of the park by the beach house.

This is the ninth year for Lights of the Northwoods, an idea that began when a resident approached the Lions Club, asking for a holiday display similar to the Rotary Club display in La Crosse. Romportl said the original small group quickly realized they would need help from the community to undertake such a large project. The first year, the Rhinelander Lions Club was the nonprofit organization to which residents and visitors could donate when they were looking to help. But once they saw the overwhelming support and attendance that first year, the team knew they had an ongoing event that would last well into the future. With that, Lights of the Northwoods became a 501(c)(3) organization of its own and continues to be a stand-alone organization today.

“Many people think this is the city’s event,” Romportl said. “But it’s not. It’s a Lights of the Northwoods event, and it’s important for people to know that all of this work is volunteer.” He said the City of Rhinelander had been gracious enough to allow them to use the park and to help with some infrastructure needs, but the work of setting up, maintaining and ultimately taking down and storing all of the lights and displays lands in volunteer hands. He said it takes over three miles of cords to power all of the displays. Maintenance is an ongoing task for volunteers, and a labor of love to keep all the lights twinkling.

Because attendance continues to grow, Romportl said, the decision was made to have the lights lit every night in December in order to accommodate the amount of traffic that comes through each evening. Santa will also be available three weekends in a row. The Women’s Club of Rhinelander will in the Babe Ruth Pavillion selling goodies, and Santa will be there on Friday and Saturday nights from 5  to 8 p.m.

With the Messer Street road improvements, there is now a walking path along the street above the Babe Ruth ball field. For those who are able and would like to walk through the displays, they can now start at the Pavillion at the launch ramp and walk through the entire display in one big circuit, ending on Messer Street, looking down on the entire display. 

Visitors can choose to drive through the park or take the walking trail. Both provide a great experience for those who come through. Romportl said he would strongly recommend that those who are able take the walk through the park, however.

“You’ve got about three-quarters of a mile that you can drive,” he said. “But if you drive, I would also highly recommend that if people are able, to walk it. That’s where you get the true experience – walking along the lake shore and then walking the pathway. When you do both, you really get the full impact of what’s happening.” He said for people who are not able to walk the path, though, the driving route offers some spectacular views as well.

The event is free to the public, but donations of food are accepted for local food pantries, as are monetary donations. All donations will be distributed to the food pantries in Rhinelander, Tomahawk and Elcho. 

Romportl said many local groups have volunteered to help staff the event, helping to give visitors directions, answer questions and collect the food pantry donations. Volunteers to help with the event are still welcome, he said, and when January 1 comes and it is time to take the displays down and get them back into storage, those who would like to volunteer to help can come to Hodag Park and pitch in.

Those looking for more information, or who may want to volunteer to help out, can contact the Lights of the Northwoods through their website at https://lightsofthenorthwoods.org/ or by visiting their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/NorthwoodsLights. 

Beckie Gaskill may be reached via email at [email protected].