Oglebay Park Flips Switch On Holiday Lights, $2 Million Investment in Event
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WHEELING - Santa - with some help from WesBanco - flipped the switch on Oglebay Park’s 42nd Annual Festival of Lights holiday celebration Thursday night and the official beginning of the Christmas season in the Ohio Valley.
The move to light up the night also kicked off the Wheeling Park Commission's intent to invest more than $2 million in the show over the next two years.
"This season marks one of the most significant transformations in the festival's more than forty years of history," said Bob Peckenpaugh, president and CEO of the Wheeling Park Commission. "The investment we are making in the show is the most we've ever made in a single year of The Festival of Lights.
"This is creating more magic than we ever have before in this holiday tradition."
The resort wants return customers to its light show, according to Peckenpaugh.
"This year we put a special emphasis on walking experiences," he said. "Our desire is for you to return to The Festival of Lights multiple times in one season - not just a drive through.
"We've created reasons for you to get out of your cars and experience the magic of the holiday season up close."
Lighted walking tunnels now connect the area between Farmhouse Sweets and Treats and the Oglebay Mansion. Operations will be extended past 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. each night.
The tunnels take visitors to the front door of SLEIGH, a holiday pop-up bar new this season located in the garden bistro.
SLEIGH will be open daily starting Nov. 6 through Jan. 2. Sunday through Thursday hours are from 5-10 p.m. , and Friday and Saturday SLEIGH stays open until 11 p.m.
At the Good Zoo, there is now a new retail destination called "The Good." Children will be able to build their own stuffed animals there.
A giant walk-in snow globe also has been placed at the zoo where families can have photo opportunities.
Santa's Village, located near Levenson Shelter, has been expanded this year. There will still be ice skating, train rides and concessions, but another lighted tunnel has been added connecting Santa's Village to Camp Russel. A retail shop has been located there, where children will find Santa at Oglebay.
Recent years saw the introduction of a 70-foot Christmas tree placed in the fountain area of The Hilltop close to the Oglebay mansion. Now, another larger-than-life attraction will greet visitors along Schenk Lake.
New this year will be a 30-foot Frosty the Snowman at the lake, as well as vibrant RGB lighting displays, animated singing faces known as the Holiday Harmonizers.
"Beyond Frosty, on Observatory Field, you will experience 'The Magnificent Seven Trees of Wonder,' and a whole field filled with lights and music," Peckenpaugh said. "It is a whole new dimension of holiday magic we can't wait for you to experience."
Lastly, Oglebay Park this year has established the "Legacy Loop" area to pay homage to past displays - many of which were made in the metal shop at Wheeling Park High School.
"Oglebay and the Festival of Lights represent our community's generation connection," added Eriks Janelsins, president and CEO of the Oglebay Foundation. "Every season Oglebay's Festival of Lights is recognized as one of the biggest and best light shows in the nation. It drew tour buses from across the nation, and that reputation was earned."
He estimates more than 300,000 guests "will make the drive up Route 88" to Oglebay Park this year because the festival "has never stood still."
The community investments in the "Festival of Lights" are bold and broad, and that generosity has driven the park forward for more than a century, Janelsins continued.
"Over the next 24 months, the Wheeling Park Commission will invest more than ever before to transform the Oglebay experience," he said. "None of this happens alone. We have the most generous community of donors anywhere."