SPRINGFIELD – Each year hundreds of cars and buses line Sumner Avenue waiting for their turn to drive through the festively-decorated Forest Park during Bright Nights.

Twenty-five years ago Bright Nights made its first appearance in Springfield. Since its inception families from near and far have come to celebrate the holiday season by driving through a display-filled Forest Park.

The lighting display has grown in many ways throughout the year with new displays, cost-efficiency upgrades and the addition of various activities such as the Bright Nights 5K, Supper with Santa, First Responders Night and Military Night.

Since it’s creation, the display has become much more than a drive through the park. Now a tradition and holiday experience families come out in droves to enjoy, Bright Nights has become a staple of the holiday season in Springfield.

 Additionally, since its opening in 1995, the display has brought millions of dollars in economic development to the city aiding in Springfield’s ever-growing tourism industry.

This week, Reminder Publishing took a look at how the display has grown and expanded throughout its early years. This history was provided by the Spirit of Springfield via their 15th anniversary Bright Nights book.

• Feb. 1995: Springfield Park Director, Patrick J. Sullivan came across a brochure from a vendor for Carpenter Decorating Company, a firm from North Carolina who designed and manufactured light displays for the holidays. With a vision for Forest Park he contacted longtime friend, colleague and Spirit of Springfield President, Judith Matt.
• Spring 1995: Matt contacted the vendor from the brochure, but didn’t want what he was offering- stock displays in the shapes of Santa. From there she connected with Design Director, John Catenaci, who made his way to Springfield from North Carolina after hearing Matt’s vision. After seeing what Forest Park had to offer as a canvas for his displays, he went back to North Carolina and sent Matt sketches of beautiful displays.
• Sept. 7, 1995: Matt and Sullivan unveiled their plans for Bright Nights to the city of Springfield during a press conference at Forest Park’s Trolley Pavilion with designs of the displays on hand. One month later, displays trickled into Springfield one by one and crews began the laborious task of assembling them.
• Nov. 24, 1995: The Park Department worked through weekends and nights for hundreds of hours to set up and display the holiday lights. Their hard work paid off on Nov. 24 when Bright Nights opened to the public on schedule at 5 p.m. Before the first night ended, thousands of cars had traveled through the park to admire the displays. The cars continued to line Sumner Avenue and trickle into Forest Park each night on until the display went dark on Jan. 14, 1996.
• 1996: Word began to spread about Springfield’s unique and festive light display. Soon articles appeared in publications across the globe such as the New York Times, MotorHome, Colonial Homes, Airways Magazine, Yankee Magazine, Takara Magazine in Japan, People Magazine and the soft cover book Holiday Lights. Soon Bright Nights was receiving awards and recognition, including one of the Top 100 Events in North America, Best Tourism Creation Execution and an award from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism.
• Nov. 1996: In a news conference, Matt and Sullivan announced Bright Nights would be expanding to downtown Springfield. Included in this area were City Hall, Symphony Hall, the Campanile, lights at Tower Square, the Pynchon and Monarch buildings and Court Square. During that year, 1996 also became the “year of buses” as the number of buses traveling through the park’s display more than tripled. Since 1996, more than 900 buses travel through the display each year.
• 2001: The Garden of Peace display was added to Bright Nights. The light display includes flowers blooming with love, peace, faith, hope and joy. The light display also features angels and a Peace on Earth Globe with doves. The display was dedicated to those who lost their lives during the terrorist attacks in New York City on Sept. 11, 2001.
• 2005: The Jurassic World display was added to the park. The largest expansion in Bright Nights’ history so far, a family of animated light-up dinosaurs surrounded by trees and an erupting volcano were added to the ever-growing displays that make up Bright Nights.
• 2007: This was the year a tribute to old Saint Nick was added to the display of lights. Santa’s Magical Forest was set up with brightly lit trees in a variety of colors, along with elves who sing to visitors and a leaping deer. The same year, five miles of lights were changed to LED light bulbs which saves thousands of dollars each year.

In recent years, displays dedicated to the Springfield Thunderbirds hockey team and a leaping lion light display to commemorate the addition of MGM Springfield to the city have been added to Bright Nights.

Bright Nights opened on Nov. 27 and will remain open until Jan. 5, 2020.?Cars are able to drive through the display from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday. On Friday’s and Saturday’s the display is open from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. New Year’s Day hours are from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Entrance into the display costs $20 per car on Monday through Thursday. On Friday, Saturday, Sunday and holidays admittance cost $25.?

For limo and bus rates, along with discounts available visit https://www.brightnights.org/visitor-info/dates-rates/.