By Delaney Osbourn
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In the Northwest Arkansas area, Christmas lights are almost expected this time of year. But, for the city of Fayetteville, the Lights of the Ozarks brings an entire different outlook to brightening up the holidays.
Gary Sager, Parks and Recreation Maintenance Supervisor, explained how this year over 500,000 bulbs are on display for the community to see and experience. But, with the lights, comes a price. “It comes up to be around $100,000 to put that on every year, including the labor, equipment, and the lights,” Sager said.
Sager explained that the money comes from different donations and budgets within the city. But, overall the money comes from budgets that have been planned in advance by the Parks and Recreation Department of Fayetteville.
The process of setting the lights up can take up to three-thousand hours, and overall the process of preparing for the holiday season is year round. Sager explained how even though the Lights of the Ozarks don’t bring in much money for the community, the lights do enrich our community in a different way. “It’s a good feature for our city for people who come in to see the lights and for people our community to have the lights to see,” Sager said.