By: Ryan Duey
The Clay Center Utility Park Zoo will host its 4th annual “Lights Before Christmas” drive-thru fundraiser on Friday, December 13th, and Saturday, December 14th from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. This free-will donation event will help in building the new Splash Pad at the Park.
In the beginning, this annual event helped to build the Welcome Center at the Zoo. Scott Glaves, Public Utilities Superintendent, said their fundraising committee came up with this drive-thru event.
“We really wanted to make a more unique event, so the original concept was to do a kind of a drive-thru fundraiser. We do have a lot of people who sponsor the event, and we greatly appreciate that. Every year we’ve always had a Christmas display down there, but with this event, we have a lot more lights and individual stops.”
The “Lights Before Christmas” event started during the COVID pandemic, Glaves said it was a success then and continues to grow.
“It has been a really big success. The first year we were just in the middle of COVID, so it kind of worked out well because people stayed in their vehicles, and we’ve grown the event every year. We have gotten a lot of positive feedback from the community and it’s very festive.”
To participate in the drive-thru simply line up at the utility park entrance. Then enjoy a festive drive, full of lights and holiday characters, all from the warmth of your vehicle.
