By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
As the Trail of Lights in Great Bend gets bigger and brighter each holiday season, the city recorded the most visitors in 2022 since 2012. From the Saturday after Thanksgiving to Dec. 22, the city has volunteers record vehicle tag information from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Brit Spaugh Park.
The volunteers also hand out Great Bend promotional bags and receive donations. The city received nearly $3,900 in donations this year that will go back toward improving and repairing the light displays in the future.
Great Bend Community Coordinator Christina Hayes said it is a small snapshot of the total cars that pass through, but she is thankful for the volunteers that track the data.
"I know the years we do have volunteers for every night, we get a little bit more in donations," said Hayes. "I can't say thanks enough to the people that are willing to volunteer."
During the 27 days volunteers greeted visitors, 3,136 vehicles made their way
through the park lights, an increase of nearly 1,000 from last year.