MUSKOGEE, Okla. — As spiders weave webs ahead of Halloween and leaves anticipate Autumn's significant change, an Honor Heights Park team is busy preparing for 'the most wonderful time of the year.'
"We're wrapping lights for the Garden of Lights. That'll open up on Thanksgiving day and last until January 1," says Maintenance Team Leader Rodney Faith.
For Rodney, putting up these lights is tradition, "I've been doing it for about 18 years!"
He's part of the small crew who'll spend the next few months illuminating hundreds of trees for the park's biggest festival: The Garden of Lights. “We've got some new exciting things planned. Yeah, we sure do," says Rodney.
Rick Ewing, the Assistant Director of Parks, explains, "We have somewhere in the neighborhood of 1.3 million lights out here. It is a drive-thru display, but we have an area where you can park and go out in the Pavilion and have concessions and have some downtime outside of the car."
The garden-themed Christmas tour features lighted azaleas, of course, and those flowering shrubs are something else this park is famous for.
Rick says the first azaleas planted remain. The Azalea Festival dates back nearly 60 years and runs all of April. Rick explains that the festival was born from a late freeze.
"A late freeze that killed all the Dogwood blooms in Eastern Oklahoma and Western Arkansas, so they were like, where are we going to take the bus through? Hey, we saw this one place, came to Muskogee, and drove through. By 1967, they decided we need to make this a thing."
The Parks and Recreation Department estimates around 2 million people visit Honor Heights Park annually. They say the biggest draws are the festivals, but there's still plenty to do on a typical day.
"You're going to find beauty and serenity here. That's number one, but other than that, you'll find an all-access playground. We've got a number of fishing lakes, all access docks and gazebos, a number of shelters, and we have one of the larger tree arboretums in the state," says Rick.
In the park's 140 acres, we also discovered a hands-on children's garden.
Rick adds, "One of our jewels out here is the Papillion, which is a butterfly house and education and display gardens."
Walking trails wind all over. There's also a tennis court and plans for pickleball this coming spring.
"With all of these facilities, there is something for everyone regardless of age. It is a great place to be," says Rick.
Rodney, who's still hard at work, agrees, "I would say it's a one-of-a-kind!"
He also hopes everyone will stop by, especially at Christmastime. "Come see 'em- yes, absolutely, it's worth the ride," exclaims Rodney.
Admission to the Garden of Lights is $10 per car, and the proceeds go back to the park.
You can learn more about all of the events at Honor Heights Park here.
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