Texas ‘Wonderland of Lights’ Display Elevates Spirits, Profits

About this time each year, Frank Johnson walks around town with a pocket full of little light bulbs.

Nearly everywhere he goes, the assistant city manager finds something amiss--a part of Rudolph’s nose gone dark, a tree branch dimming, an angel’s wing flickering. With 9 million lights burning throughout the East Texas city, Johnson needs a lot of bulbs. And he’s not alone.

More than 1,000 miles of lights strung by hundreds of volunteers over thousands of hours turn this city of 25,000 into a “Wonderland of Lights.” And any of the bulbs could blow at any time.

Nearly every public building, most retailers and hundreds of homes join in the annual extravaganza, which began in 1987 and this year runs from Nov. 24 through Dec. 30. It is one of the largest lighting displays in the country and attracts nearly 700,000 visitors annually. Last year it drew visitors from 48 states and 22 foreign countries.

The crown jewel of the Wonderland of Lights is the historic Harrison County courthouse, which illuminates the town square with more than 200,000 lights. This year, computers control the bulbs that outline the dome of the century-old structure in the Renaissance revival style. The high-tech equipment can change light colors and create patterns of blinking bulbs.

“It’s a beautiful sight all lit up,” Mayor Audrey Kariel says. “It’s breathtaking.”

The mayor says there are some displays with religious themes--on private property. But the festival is inspiring to all.

“Peace on earth and goodwill toward men is universal,” says Kariel, one of the community’s few Jewish residents. “There’s a sense of pride. It means a lot to us.”

Preparations started in September for the festival’s opening ceremony on Thanksgiving eve. In the weeks leading up to it, volunteers worked in 80-degree weather to put final touches on the courthouse and outdoor skating rink and to garland dozens of downtown light poles.

Marshall’s “Wonderland of Lights” is one stop on the “Holiday Trail of Lights,” which includes three attractions in neighboring Louisiana: Shreveport, Bossier City and Natchitoches.

Marshall’s event was conceived by a former publisher of the Marshall News Messenger, who wrote an editorial asking citizens to create the “picture perfect Christmas.” It grew steadily as neighborhoods started their own elaborate decorations and candlelight home tours.

Wonderland of Lights is run by a nonprofit group, which spends about $260,000 annually. This year, Irving-based Internet retailer iCelebrate.com donated 3 million lights, many now wrapping the Hotel Marshall like a holiday package. The historic nine-story hotel, vacant and dilapidated, was built on the courthouse square in 1927.

While most Wonderland of Lights attractions are free, the operating group recoups costs with fees from the ice-skating rink and guided tour buses and from souvenir sales.

Area businesses reap the greatest rewards. The six-week event pumps more than $12 million into the regional economy, according to Pam Whisenant, the city’s tourism director. Whisenant said the event draws about 13,000 overnight visitors to hotels, motels and bed-and-breakfast inns in Marshall and the surrounding area. Each overnight visitor, she said, spends an average of $67 per day, while day tourists spend about $17 each on meals and purchases.

At Marshall Pottery, one of the largest makers of terra-cotta pots in the nation, sales increase 40% during the holiday season, according to store manager Jeff Floyd.

“The economic impact is phenomenal for us,” he says. “The festival is very important to our retail environment here.”

Business also is brisk at the Taylor House restaurant, a 130-year-old house built by a great-uncle of Lady Bird Johnson. The holiday menu features crab cakes, filet mignon with cabernet sauce, chocolate French silk pie and pumpkin cake. An average evening meal costs $30.

“Most of our diners come in on tour buses,” says Steve Mylar, owner of Taylor House. “We’ve already started taking reservations for next year.”

Many visitors are so enchanted with the festival that they return each year with friends and family.

“It’s a Norman Rockwell setting,” says Phyllis Prince, special events coordinator for the Marshall Chamber of Commerce. “Every evening at dusk, you just get chills.”