A group of East Texas employees recently helped power the 26th year of a community-led drive-thru holiday attraction in Liberty City, Texas.

For the past 25 years, Liberty City’s Hugh Camp Memorial Park has been home to Christmas in the Park, a free community event featuring hundreds of twinkling lights, Santa and Mrs. Claus and local performers on Friday and Saturday nights in December.

It’s a community treasure that Sylvia Cardenas, a Sr. Administrative Assistant in Longview, has taken her children to for years.

“They love it. It’s such a special community event,” she said.  

So, when it came time for volunteers to help with this year’s lights display, she reached out to her coworkers to help lend a hand.

“They always need volunteers, and we were looking at doing a teambuilding event at the time, and I thought this would be a great fit,” Cardenas said.

In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, Cardenas together with Distribution Systems Supervisors Martin Hergert, Scott Bingham, Shaun Braley, Doug Kriegel, Custom Design Manager Stephanie Scott-George and Distribution Line Coordinator Sr. Derrol Smith, repaired multiple candy cane, train and other lighting displays at the office before heading to the park to assist with installation.

In addition, they were able to supply $300 worth of additional lights through AEP’s Caring Together Volunteer Funding Program, which provides “mini funds” of up to $300 to groups of active employees who wish to organize projects in their community.

“This was a way for us to give back to a community we serve in a meaningful way,” Cardenas said.

Liberty City is an unincorporated area outside Kilgore, Texas, that has experienced significant growth in the past five years. Its annual holiday attraction started back in 1997 when Sabine High School student Dana Joiner convinced her church to decorate the 7.5-acre park with Christmas lights. Each Friday and Saturday night, McCrary’s Chapel served cookies and hot chocolate to park visitors and recruited Santa to stop by. Known then as Christmas in a Small Town, the event grew each year with new displays and volunteers building a house for Santa and Mrs. Claus to greet children.  As it grew, the church turned it over to the community, and in 2003, the name changed to Christmas in the Park at Liberty City.

Christmas in the Park at Liberty City begins Friday, Dec. 1, and runs throughout the month of December. Each Friday and Saturday night through Dec. 16, children can see Santa and Mrs. Claus from 6 -8 p.m. The park is located at 5716 Old Hwy 135 North.