Driving through a Winter Wonderland

Old favorites and new designs await holiday revelers at this year's Winter Wonderland festival of lights at Northland Arboretum.

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At 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day people will be able to find out what the Brainerd Area Sertoma Club has in store for this year's display. Cathe Picek, Winter Wonderland committee member, said the layout has been changed and about one-third of the 65 displays are new.

"This is our third year and each year we try to add a little bit, do something different," Picek said. "It's very fun. It brings a lot of people together, a lot of volunteer hours, but when you see the end result it's so gratifying."

Sertoma member Jamie Rowlette on Monday replaced burned out light bulbs in one of the 65 displays at this year's Winter Wonderland at Northland Arboretum in preparation for the event's opening Thanksgiving Day. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls» Purchase reprints of this photo.

Winter Wonderland will be open from 6-9 p.m. Wednesdays-Saturdays from Nov. 26-Jan. 2. Cost is $10 per vehicle, though discount tickets for $3 off are available at more than 55 area businesses.

New displays include a bank, a skating bunny, a sliding turtle, a snowboarding walrus, fishermen, a frog jumping and a Christmas train.

Coming back for another round are the church, Christmas tree and the tunnel of lights. As new displays are purchased each year, old ones go into storage and will be rotated back in future years. Sertoma also is working at using more LED lights in its displays.

Aside from displays, there are several new twists to this year's Winter Wonderland. The holiday village is only open Friday and Saturday nights; there will be two walking-only nights, Dec. 8 and Dec. 22; and Dec. 18-19 will feature a signing Santa and carolers for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Returning at the arboretum building will be gingerbread house village, made by the children of Black Bear Lodge and Saloon, with a Santa Bear collection added to liven up the village.

Work on the displays has been going on for about a month, and three and-a-half weeks ago the displays were moved to Northland Arboretum.

Winter Wonderland

Where: Northland Arboretum. The entrance is off Northwest Seventh Street next to the Department of Veterans Affairs Brainerd Community Based Outpatient Clinic.

When: Starting Thanksgiving Day, Winter Wonderland will be open 6-9 p.m. on Wednesdays-Saturdays from Nov. 26-Jan. 2. Two walking-only nights are set for Dec. 8 and Dec. 22. The holiday village at the Northland Arboretum building will only be open Friday and Saturday nights.

Cost: $10 per vehicle with $3 discount coupons available at many area businesses. The two walking-only nights will be $3.

In a light rain Monday, Sertoma members, armed with boxes of bulbs, went about one last check of the displays. Tedious work, but if nothing else the mild 50-degree temperatures made changing bulbs easier.

"There's no problem with it at all when it's like this," said Sertoma member Les Franz.

"Oh yeah, this is a lot better than when it's 30 degrees below zero," Mark Korte quickly agreed as he checked lights near the Winter Wonderland entrance off Southwest Seventh Street next to the Department of Veterans Affairs Brainerd Community Based Outpatient Clinic.

Sertoma members will continue readying the arboretum up until Thursday. Then members will take shifts during the events duration, often spending hours out in the cold. Franz said no Sertomans mind the work, however.

"It's fun," he said. "It's fun when the gang gets together."

Last year, about 6,000 vehicles went through Winter Wonderland and Picek expects about the same turnout. Snow would help, she said, but she still expects a large turnout, especially with the event entering its third year.

"If we get snow we have a higher percentage of people through but the light show is just so bright people can't miss," Picek said. "They'll be driving down Excelsior (Road) and Jackson (Street) and want to know what's going on."

The more vehicles through Winter Wonderland the more people who benefit. Proceeds will go to charities the Sertoma club supports, including youth-oriented programs, speech and hearing disabilities projects, Camp Confidence and other community projects that promote Sertoma's mission of service to mankind.

"That's our main purpose," Picek said. "It's ... something we can give back to the community."

MATT ERICKSON may be reached at matt.erickson@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5857.