Christmas at Panther Creek is coming to a close on Sunday, and officials project this year to be one of the most successful light shows to date.
County Commissioner George Wathen said that as of Christmas Day, the light show had raised $30,000 opening Nov. 26. While he said this number is behind pace for the record amount of nearly $50,000 raised in 2020, this year has already brought in $10,000 more than in 2019.
Priced at $5 per car, this is a roughly 6,000 car admittance.
“It’s really exciting for me because we’re always able to help nonprofit organizations and they work hard,” Wathen said.
He said that the non-profits would receive an even split of half of the proceeds from the event and this year is looking to be at least $3,000 for each of them.
The 2021 non-profits include the Kentucky State Police Professional Association, Right to Life of Owensboro, St. Benedict’s Homeless Shelter, WKWC 90.3 FM – Kentucky Wesleyan College and United Way of the Ohio Valley.
The other half of the funds will go back to preparing next year’s light show as they continue to expand the route and bring in new elements.
This year’s showing consists of a 1.15-mile lighted driving tour with more than 50 displays and 700,000 lights. The park is open nightly from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Panther Creek Park is located at 5160 Wayne Bridge Road, near KY 81 on the west side of Owensboro. The lighted driving tour circles a six-acre lake with dozens of static displays, including a 20-foot arch at the north end of the park.
While the Christmas part of December may be over, they still are open until Jan. 2, 2022, and Wathen said it is a family fun event aside from the holiday attachment.
“It’s a great live show [and] it is pretty inexpensive. They can pile as many people as they can in a car and it’s just $5 per car,” Wathen said. “So it’s a good little family event.”
