Christmas in the Park set for Dec. 6

Fort Scott, Kan. -- An idea which was first envisioned by Fort Scott Police Sgt. Craig Rice six years ago has developed into an annual community event.

Rice and the Fort Scott Park Event Committee in conjunction with the city of Fort Scott will conduct Christmas in the Park, from 6 to 9 p.m., on Saturday, Dec. 6, at Gunn Park.

The event, which is free to the public, was created with a two-fold purpose in mind, according to Rice. The intent was to draw community members closer together while promoting a greater awareness of what the city's park has to offer residents.

"We are trying to keep the community together and give them something to do without having to go out of town," Rice said.

This year's event will offer a variety of Christmas-related activities for event participants. Area residents who attend the Christmas event will have the opportunity to take a Christmas hay ride, touring the park's holiday scenery.

Organizers will be serving hot chocolate, coffee and chili to those who attend Christmas in the Park. In addition, participating children will have the opportunity to decorate sugar cookies, make a Christmas craft, visit Santa in his workshop and pet live reindeer.

According to Rice, one of the park's shelter houses will provide an opportune place for families to take group photos in front of a fireplace background. In addition, children can get their pictures taken with Santa Claus. However, there will not be any professional photographers taking pictures this year, so any family members wishing to have a photo taken must bring their own cameras to the event.

For safety reasons, event attendees will not be allowed to drive or walk down into the park, Rice said. Parking will be available at The Fort Scott Professional Building (formerly Newman Young Clinic), the former Family Physicians and the Fort Scott Community College nursing building. Event attendees are asked to park in one of the designated parking lots and board one of the buses or trolleys which will be shuttling people down into the park. Rice stressed the importance of attendees following these parking procedures as anyone who attempts to drive through barricades will likely cause undue traffic hazards. In addition, anyone who attempts to walk down into the park instead of taking one of the shuttles will be creating an unsafe situation for themselves as well as the shuttles who are transporting guests into the park.

Conducting Christmas in the Park free of charge to area residents would not be possible without the support of local residents, according to Rice. The park committee conducts Freedom Fest and Halloween in the Park earlier in the year in order to raise money to fund the Christmas event.

Even with the fundraisers, donations from local businesses and residents who volunteer their time, Rice said it is not enough to completely cover the cost of everything. For this reason, Rice said residents who would like to contribute to the cost of the event can make a donation in one of the donation boxes which will be available at the park that night. In addition to the donation boxes, Rice said there will also be suggestion boxes placed throughout the park during the event. He said he encourages anyone who has suggestions for future activities to drop a note in the suggestion box.

For additional information or to make a donation before or after the event contact Rice at (620) 223-1700 or Kathi Plain at (620) 223-0550.