FISH CREEK (NBC26) — Year after year, people come to Fish Creek to play outdoor games and listen to live music at the Winter Festival. The village decided to cancel the event this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but fish creek found a way to stay merry and bright this winter: introducing a new tour of lights.
"We kind of lacked in years past with our holiday lights," said Karlie Schultz, Marketing and Outreach Manager for the Fish Creek Civic Association. "But not so much anymore.”
More than 70 new holiday light decorations now light up Fish Creek as part of the tour of lights, and they will stay lit up every night until mid-February. Everyone wanted to find a way to keep the winter festival energy alive this year, said Schultz.
“The town really came together to get all these lights up," she said. "How can we best show it off to visitors and locals? We just hope it’s something fun for people to do, get them out of the house, and kind of get them around, driving around Fish Creek.”
The path is completely self guided; people can walk or drive it, completely on their own time. Destinations include the Alexander Noble House, Founders Square and Fish Creek Beach.
“It’s been a weird year," said Megan Girsch. "Kind of makes sense, and it’s cold and kind of slower."
Megan Girsch and her mother, Carol Girsch, are visiting Fish Creek from Milwaukee.
“It’s cool that people have to be a little creative to find new things to get a little enjoyment out of," said Carol Girsch.
For those who want a taste of the Winter Festival, Clark Park has the yeti photo stand-in up for everyone to take pictures with.
“Kind of something fun, a little quirky," said Schultz. "Keep the Winter Festival spirit alive during this gap year.”
If you want to hit all the spots on the tour of lights, you can pick up a map at the visitor’s center or any of the open businesses. You can also download it here and print it out yourself or pull it up on your phone.
