Festival-O-Lights
The Tradition
Every year about this time there is a Festival of Lights in
Peoria,
Illinois. For many families in that area, this means gathering together
into
the station wagon for an evening of fun in the big city. For a group of
high school students from LeRoy
, Illinois it is an excuse to escape from life for a few precious
hours. And so, back in December of 1991, eight of us piled into a van
and headed out for a night of fun.
The Van
Since this was such a special night, we could not use just any vehicle to
set out on our journey to Peoria. Through the goodness of Mr. and Mrs.
Ronald Wesbecher we were able to commandeer a relatively new
Ford Aerostar
Van on that first fateful night. This is not just any Aerostar, but an
Eddie Bauer Limited Edition classic piece of machinery. Some of the
features on this puppy include an on-ship computer that tells average as
well as current gas mileage, average speed in miles or kilometers per hour,
altitude, travel time, and distance from the Holy Land. It also boasts
front and rear air conditioners, but they do not come in handy so much at
this time of year. At any rate, this was the original vehicle, and so
the tradition stands...
The People
As I said, the people involved were all classmates of LeRoy High
School. In fact, these were some of the best that the class of 1993 had
to offer.
Past participants include Rich Lykins, Megan Sowerby, Merry
Wilson, Jason Hall, Kris Wesbecher, Carrie Kline, Kim Epperson, Neely
Steege, Scott
Bailey, Clint Kehoe. All have
since
moved on to better things, but when this time of year rolls around, they
get an itch for that trip to Peoria.
The Festival
Essentially, there is some kind of parade of Christmas-light-lit
floats that goes on some weekend. Following the parade, the floats are
left on display for holiday gawkers. Many other locations in town are
aglow with Christmas cheer. It never seemed to matter much whether the
lights were any good, we just enjoyed the moment. Often we miss some of
the attractions (like the Enchanted Forest or Philipi's Something
Something) because we have spent too much time screwing around. However,
a closed attraction never seems to dampen our holiday spirits.
Singing
Since we are always in such good moods, we can never help but bust
into song at some point during the night. The vehicle's pilot, Rich
Lykins (lovingly referred to as Clark), and co-pilot, Aaron Bishop,
traditionally lead the singing. One year we even tried to get into
Gisepi's Something Something for free by singing to the gatekeepers in
our best voices. In, the end they charged us double for giving them
trouble, but we didn't mind.
This year's celebration
This year's reenactment of that sacred night is sadly plagued by
mishap and rumors. First, Miss Wesbecher will be in Appalachia
delivering gifts to the poor (what's up with that?), so it seems we may
have trouble securing the tradition mode of transportation. Furthermore,
many of the past participants are still bickering over a mix-up with the
invitations a couple years back. Please help us preserve this
tradition! This home page is an open invitation to all past
participants and their friends. The tentative date was Thursday, December
21st. However, I think those at Augustana had a problem with that, so we
are now considering December 23rd or 24th. I think Christmas Eve would
be fun, but I don't know if any of you have special traditions for that
night. So check your calendars now; if you would like to attend or need
to request a date-change, please contact Rich Lykins. We are still searching for a vehicle too.
Let's all band together to ensure that this year's celebration is the
best one yet. "And God bless us...every one"
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