Rotary Lights brighten up Riverside Park for 17th year

With the holiday season well on its way, La Crosse does its part by bringing a little light to the Riverside Park downtown.  This festive array of lights sees over 20,000 visitors during the course of its season.  The Rotary Lights represent an organization of many volunteers dedicated to bringing something charitable to the holiday spirit.  The goal is simple: to feed the hungry.  

The light display begins the day after Thanksgiving and ends on New Year's Eve at 1:00 a.m.  A festive parade marks the beginning of the rotary light season.  The parade takes place the day after Thanksgiving at Wells Fargo in downtown La Crosse.  The park is open from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. every day, with the exceptions of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, extending the hours to 10:00 p.m.  Admission is free and non-perishable food items are encouraged, as well as donations to the charity.  

 Community volunteers bring this display together through the generosity of their hearts, as this year marks the 17th year for the Rotary Lights.  Leo Thadput is just one of the 2,800 volunteers that come together every year in hopes of helping feed their community.  "It comes down to what is the purpose of the Rotary Lights?  The purpose is to help feed the hungry people of the Coulee Region," said Thadput. These volunteers include workers from over eight different non-profit organizations around the Coulee Region.  

Last year, over 200,000 units of food were donated by the attendees of the Rotary Lights.  The need for this type of charity grows each year.  With increasing economic struggles, volunteers are bonding together to help one another in the Coulee Region.  The amount of food collected last year would have lasted months on the food shelves, whereas it only lasts about 10 weeks nowadays.  The increasing need for food brings motivation to the many workers who make the festive light display.  Thousands of volunteers, like Thadput, recognize the growing need for charity in our community and are doing their part to help every year.

  The motivation behind the volunteers is generosity.  For Thadput, the feeling of generosity is what makes it all worth while.  "I get a nice feeling, and that's what makes it work it.  This [organization] shows me that the people of the Coulee Region are very generous," said Thadput.  

 While the Rotary lights are always an enjoyable experience for the community, the students here on campus appreciate the lights as well.  "The lights are so great for the Christmas spirit.  I look forward to going there every year," said Alex Molnau, a junior at UW-La Crosse. Maggie Johnson, another student, loves the light display as well. She said, "I am excited to be able to do my part in the community to help the food pantry."  What can we do as a student body to help out this holiday season? We all should take the time to head down to the Rotary Lights and donate a non-perishable food item to help feed the hungry this holiday season!