Wet weather temporarily shuts off St. Paul lights show
Star Tribune
December 15, 2014 - 8:27 PM
A St. Paul holiday lights show was temporarily shut down Monday night due to the unusually warm and damp weather.
The St. Paul chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), which helps sponsor the Holiday Lights in the Park display in St. Paul’s Phalen Park, told organizers in the St. Paul Police Foundation that the lights’ electrical connections could short out because of the humidity and condensation, making the event unsafe.
To keep the complicated displays illuminated, workers would continually have to help maintain the displays and could have been put in harm’s way, said Robb Leer, media liaison for the show.
It is the first time in seven seasons that Holiday Lights in the Park will go dark due to the rain.
“We’ve never been rained out before, this is a first for us,” said Kate Kelly, executive director of the St. Paul Police Foundation, in a release. “But safety comes first, and we have our fingers crossed that conditions will go back to normal so we can reopen [Tuesday night].”
Holiday Lights in the Park is open nightly from Nov. 25 through Jan. 1. The show is made up of more than 60 holiday light sculptures and animated displays that visitors can see from their vehicles as they drive through the park.
It costs visitors $10 per vehicle to experience the show. All of the net proceeds will be distributed to Union Gospel Mission, the St. Paul Police Foundation and the St. Paul Parks Conservancy. To date, the show has raised more than $336,000 to support local nonprofit organizations.
NICOLE NORFLEET
