The Kiwanis Holiday Lights Board of Directors is pleased to announce that $77,000 will be donated to the 67 non-profit organizations that assisted with the event this past year. “Year 10 was very successful in our eyes, even with us having to close 2 nights because of weather,” said Scott Wojcik, Kiwanis Holiday Lights President. “The generosity of the visitors to Kiwanis Holiday Lights never ceases to amaze us.” Wojcik added.
Additional statistics include:
Over 175,000 people attended the free event in 2022
The event remains completely volunteer-driven
All set-up was completed over 10 days during the five weekends prior to opening
All tear-down was completed in three days in early January
$77,000 will be donated back to the non-profit groups that assisted with set-up, tear-down and evening volunteer help during the event. Remaining proceeds will go to help offset expenses and to improve the event in future years.
67 non-profit groups participated, providing 14,400 volunteer hours with 2,600 volunteers participating. Funds will be dispersed to the non-profit participants based on a formula that includes volunteer assistance with set-up, tear-down and nightly operations. Participating non-profit groups also received a tree that they could decorate along the walking path.
For the tenth year, visitors were encouraged to vote on their favorite non-profit tree this year. Winners were.
1st place – Mankato West Vex Robotics - $300 prize
2nd Place (tie) – Mankato Area Youth Baseball Assoc. - $150 prize
2nd Place (tie) – One Bright Star - $150 prize
Over 3,000 children visited Santa, and each received a free Kiwanis Holiday Lights Coloring Poster
54 Greater Mankato businesses participated as cash sponsors, showing continued support for the annual event
8 tons of food was collected for 16 area food shelves
The opening night parade was presented by Girl Scouts River Valleys Greater Mankato Service Unit. The winner of the $500 float contest was Kato Moving & Storage.
Over 1.8 million energy-efficient LED lights glowed brightly throughout the event.
31 area restaurants donated food to help feed the volunteers during the event, as well as during set-up and tear-down
The opening parade and lighting ceremony for the 2023 Kiwanis Holiday Lights season will be November 24th, 2023.
THE IMPACT OF KIWANIS HOLIDAY LIGHTS SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 2012 129 tons of food has been collected for area food shelves $590,000 has been donated to the non-profits who have provided volunteers Over 1.5 million people have visited the event to date. Over 18,000 volunteers from over 115 nonprofit organizations have participated Over 165 businesses have been involved as sponsors, volunteers, or in-kind donors
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