Mena’s Christmas Lighting Display Celebrates 20 Years

BY LEANN DILBECK

The City of Mena and its visitors have been enjoying the elaborate Christmas Lights of Janssen Park for 19 years now but few may know the history of how the extensive display found its way here.

On any given night following the 20th official lighting of the park in early December, cars are seen steadily streaming up and around the circle to view the spectacular display.  It was through the work of Mena native and former Mena City Clerk/Treasurer Regina Walker that the display became a reality in 1996.

Jennings Osborne, the man who, in 1995, had the huge and yet controversial display of Christmas lights at his home in Little Rock made the decision to “downsize” and share it with communities throughout Arkansas.

Jennings was a personal friend of one of Walker’s brothers, and he had ties to Mena, so Walker approached him about Mena being one of the Christmas display sites and he was delighted.  Jennings brought in an extraordinary display and he had a crew that brought the components in, working with the City of Mena Parks Department.  The City of Mena made the necessary electrical upgrades to handle the large capacity of electricity needed.

For the first “official lighting,” Jennings wanted to do something very special for the people of Mena and facilitated bringing the real “Mickey and Minnie” from Disney World to serve as the grand marshals for the annual Christmas Parade.  Jennings paid for their transportation and wages, besides an elaborate $25,000 spectacular fireworks display.

Jennings also provided frames and lights for additional figures for the display, which led to a continued effort for in the following years of assembling frames, adding lights to them and expanding the holiday display.

Each year since then, the Mena Parks Department has created and designed their own displays to add to the park.  Their crews have to begin work in late October and early November each year to assemble the thousands of twinkling lights.

The Mena Advertising & Promotion Commission began sponsoring the fireworks display and has combined the parade and park activities into an annual Christmas Festival that local residents and tourists can look forward to each December.

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Jeri Pearson

Jeri is the News Director for Pulse Multi-Media and Editor of The Polk County Pulse. She has 10 years of experience in community focused journalism and has won multiple press association awards.

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