WAYNETOWN — Organizers for Waynetown Christmas in the Park are celebrating their most successful season yet. A record number 3,475 vehicles filled with people found their way to the town’s park in December to see the more than 60 lighted displays.
“We are thrilled with the amount of people who came to Christmas in the Park,” organizer Darren Forman said. “We believe due to COVID-19 it gave the community something to do during the holidays.”
Forman said the new additions to the event were appreciated and he mentioned the increased presence of Santa and Mrs. Claus helped children enjoy their visit.
“We figured out a safe way for children to see Santa, which was a success,” Forman said. “Then, Santa was able to squeeze in a couple of extra weekend trips to wave at kids as they drove around the park. He gave out a record number of candy canes as well.”
This year’s winning display belonged to Runyan Farms. Second and third places, respecitvely, went to Forman Baseball and Charlie and Joyce Melvin’s carriage and swans.
Forman thanked the sponsors for this year’s event, which were WCVL Radio Crawfordsville, Waynetown Merchants Association, Campbell Ag Service, Busse Excavating, Town of Waynetown, Fountain Trust and James Hacker.
Organizers hope to see the event continue to grow. There were just 24 displays when the event started five years ago. Forman said there will be room for more displays and there is always a need for more sponsors.
“We have some ideas that we will run by the town council to see if we can add some display areas,” Forman said. “With the increase in traffic we are hoping more businesses get on board next year with a display or as a sponsor, or both.”
