Lawton’s Holiday in the Park opens Saturday with parade, new displays

Parks and Recreation crews don’t waste time.

Less than three hours after a semi-truck pulled into the east side of Elmer Thomas Park Thursday morning, City of Lawton workers were putting the finishing touches on one of Holiday in the Park’s new displays: 10-foot-tall cowboy boots and hat, suitable for wear by the largest of cowboys. The light-covered display, along with a new area dubbed Christmas Around the World, will be on full public view Saturday with the official opening of Holiday in the Park’s 2023 season.

There’s still a few things to put into place before the parade begins at 6 p.m. — Parks and Recreation crews were still tweaking lights on the cowboy hat early Thursday afternoon and giving nosy prairie dogs the evil eye — but Lawton Fort Sill Chamber of Commerce President/CEO John Michael Montgomery was already breathing easier after he and his staff spent weeks working almost daily to erect displays, wrap trees with lights and create the other touches that transform Lawton’s largest park into a holiday wonderland for six weeks.

“There was a lot of community investment,” Montgomery said of the work, highlighting volunteers from Fort Sill, Lawton Soccer Club, Cameron University, his chamber staff and the City of Lawton who helped put everything into place.

The result is eye-catching displays and colorful lights that circle through the east end of the park, starting at Northwest 3rd Street. Holiday in the Park features 26 new displays, to include the aforementioned Christmas Around the World pieces and, of course, the 3-dimensional, 10-foot-tall cowboy hat and boots, with a small seat on the toe of one boot just the size for a little one to sit and pose for a picture.

Montgomery and his staff admit to being just a touch concerned about the display’s arrival, before receiving word this week it was in Dallas. The display came from overseas, and Montgomery said his staff say it is the only one of its kind in the country this year.

The display is near the beginning of the light route, in the vicinity of things such as the field of lights and stepping stones that are activated by touch, the Holiday House and the popular ice skating rink. While the rink will be open daily through the run of Holiday in the Park, Montgomery said there will be a special treat for youngsters this year: free skating on Tuesdays for those aged 10 and younger.

Scooter’s Coffee will offer hot beverages nightly at the Holiday House, and the City of Lawton’s Arts and Humanities Division is coordinating family-friendly activities every weekend between now and Christmas. Central Baptist Church will offer its popular Living Nativity Dec. 15-17, while Snider Family Exotics will have its unusual animals on display every Friday, Saturday and Sunday Nov. 24 through Dec. 31.

Holiday in the Park 2023 officially begins at 6 p.m. Saturday with Toyland, the official parade. Participants will line up in downtown Lawton on Southwest C Avenue between 2-4 p.m., with entries judged in multiple categories. Then everyone starts marching at 6 p.m. to Elmer Thomas Park via Northwest 2nd Street and Northwest Ferris. Holiday in the Park will be officially lighted when the parade arrives in the park.