The newest holiday display in Great Bend is located on the north side of the courthouse square. Christina Hayes, Great Bend Community Coordinator, described the interactive light display.
“We are very excited about this new feature,” she said. “It’s set to music where you can park your car and tune in your radio, and the lights will dance with the music.”
Parks Director Terry Hoff described the synchronized light show as a major addition to the Trail of Lights. Until this year, the north side of the courthouse square hadn’t received much attention, other than some lights.
The Great Bend City Council approved the new display, which features a 36-foot tree.
Chad and Stephanie Boone have decorated their Great Bend home with a synchronized light show, and they put in the city’s new display and programmed it.
The display was turned on Wednesday will be operating tonight, but then it will be turned off until Saturday night for unveiling after the lighting of the Mayor’s Christmas Tree.
Great Bend’s Home for the Holidays celebration kicks off at 5:30 p.m. Saturday with the annual parade.
This year’s parade theme is “All I Want for Christmas Is ...” and the grand marshal is Jean Cavanaugh.

Cookie contest
Come early to visit downtown businesses. Those who stop at Perks on Main Street can pick up a cookie box and sample cookies at participating businesses, then vote for their favorite in the Great Bend Cookie Contest. The businesses provide the cookies and a prize; those who vote in the contest will be entered in a drawing for those prizes. Winners will be announced after the parade.
After the parade, around 6:15 p.m., Mayor Mike Allison will light the tree on the south side of the courthouse square. It features 24,000 lights.
Stay downtown for the announcement of prize winners from the Cookie Contest and the winning parade entries, as well as the Explore Great Bend drawing for $1,000, $500 and $250 prizes. More activities are listed on the “Breakfast Briefing” on page 2 of today’s Great Bend Tribune.

Trail of Lights
Great Bend’s Trail of Lights also lights up Thanksgiving week. The city’s holiday light display became known as the Trail of Lights more than 20 years ago, with animation and other specials lights throughout town and beyond. The trail starts at Brit Spaugh Park, with zoo-themed animation and other lighting, then continues to Veterans Memorial Park with the “12 Days of Christmas.” There’s a Christmas Nativity scene at K-96 and 10th St., and more lights at the Barton County Historical Society – just south of Great Bend and the Arkansas River bridge on U.S. 281 – which completes the south end of the trail.
Hoff said the lights were tested Tuesday and will be checked almost daily during the holidays. Although the displays are familiar to Great Bend residents, he said there are always a few changes each year.
“This year the weather cooperated and we were able to do a little bit more,” he said. Hoff reminded those following the Trail of Lights to enter Brit Spaugh Park on the south side, from Williams Street, and exit on Main Street.