CHARLESTON Ƶ While Christmas is still five months away, one Charleston organization is already planning a yuletide event for families that looks to brighten the season.
The inaugural event in 2023 drew over 120,000 visitors from 42 states; Washington, D.C.; Puerto Rico; and Canada. The Charleston Dirty Birds announced Tuesday that it will continue partnering with Salango Law to put on the second Light the Night event this Christmas season.
The dates for the second annual Salango Law Dirty Birds Light the Night event will be Nov. 15, 2024, to Jan. 1, 2025, again at GoMart Ballpark.
General Manager Ben Blum said the Light the Night event provides the Charleston Dirty Birds with an opportunity to continue operations through the winter and to focus on providing families with lifelong memories.
ƵThis is an opportunity for us to be more than a four-month business (during baseball season),Ƶ Blum said.
At last yearƵs inaugural event, two million lights were set up inside and surrounding the ballpark. Other activities included an ice-skating rink, pictures with Santa Claus, and vendor spaces.
This year, organizers plan to go bigger and better by adding new activities, while expanding on existing activities, to try and draw more families in.
In order to do so, however, before organizers could look forward, they first had to look back.
ƵHow can we maximize our space to the best of our ability?Ƶ said Dirty Birds Owner and CEO Andy Shea. ƵI think that last year we identified a few areas we could improve.Ƶ
Some of the improvements include increasing the number of lights to 2.5 million throughout the park, setting hours for the popular skating rink and making the event more accessible to strollers and wheelchairs.
ƵItƵs amazing for my kids and my family, but itƵs also awesome for everyone elseƵs kids and their families,Ƶ Shea said.
The secret to the eventƵs success
Kanawha County Commissioner Ben Salango Ƶ whose law firm sponsors the event Ƶ said that he was approached by Shea and Director of Sales George Levandoski at a Dirty Birds game about Light the Night and knew it was going to be a success.
ƵI wouldnƵt let them leave until they promised me that we could sponsor it,Ƶ Salango said.
Salango went on to say that one of the reasons the event is so successful is because of the cityƵs donation to replace the grass field at the ballpark with a turf field.
ƵWhen you have an offseason with a grass field, you canƵt put an ice-skating rink on it, you canƵt have thousands of people out there.Ƶ
Salango said that his office and the Dirty Birds are looking forward to seeing how many people come this year, as ballpark attendance records were broken many times throughout last yearƵs event.
ƵThis is one of the biggest events of the year in Kanawha County. Last year was a tremendous success, but this year is going to be bigger and better. I never thought they would top 100,000 people, so IƵm anxious to see,Ƶ Salango said.
For those who couldnƵt make it to the ballpark last year, Blum has one simple message.
ƵYou have to come. ItƵs an experience all its own, a one-stop shop for Christmas.Ƶ
Ty McClung is a news reporter. He can be reached at 304-348-3058 or tmcclung@hdmediallc.com.
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