SHERWOOD, Ark. — Getting in the Christmas spirit is easy with Sherwood’s Enchanted Forest Trail of Lights.
The fun-filled family event will kick off on Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. with an opening ceremony.
The Enchanted Forest Trail of Lights in Sherwood has brought out Santa and the Christmas spirit for over 20 years and is one of the city's annual major events.
"We've had as many as 27,000 cars rolled through here. Our largest visit one night was 1200 cars," said Darren Austin, Director of Sherwood Parks and Recreation.
Nearly 200 festive displays light up the trail each year— but for Santa, the true light is the joy the displays bring to children.
"Best part about it is when you see the families come together and the kids' eyes light up,” said Santa. “It's almost like it's Christmas morning, and you know I kind of like Christmas morning. So that's what we love to see is have families come out here and have a great time.”
The lights will run for six weeks, ending on December 30th— and yes, they will be open every day until then.
"People will ask well, what about Christmas night or that kind of thing? Yes, we will run it all the time, every day until the 30th. There is no admission to come through," said Jamie Fuell, Sherwood Special Event Coordinator.
While there's no admission, donations are always appreciated— because that's how the lights stay on.
"Fund future displays upkeep because obviously there's a lot of light bulbs here so you got to change up some of those out every once in a while," Fuell said.
Fuell suggested that if you come out, try a day during the week instead of the weekend because wait times can stretch during the trail's prime time.
"You may have 60-to-90-minute waits just depending on the volume of cars for the night," Fuell said.
Santa added that the joy is worth it though.
"Also, they might even get a candy cane while you're here," Santa said.