Chickasha Festival of Light

"It began as a flicker. A dream"

At the beginning of my year abroad the Indian county of Chickasha Oklahoma brought me my first rodeo, this December it brought me my first Christmas lights festival, needless to say they are very cultured. I've come to realise that its the 'ordinary' events that I take so much pleasure in here because they're just so different from my own 'ordinary' events at home.. But the Chickasha light festival isn't just Christmas lights...

From November 23rd to December 31st Shannon Springs Park (43acres) is transformed by over 1000 volunteers into a garden of beautiful light for the public's enjoyment - for FREE. The display is made up of 3.5million lights and displays handmade in Chickasha and designed by residents, highschool children and local businesses.

Despite the icy roads and freezing, bitter cold, my flatmates and I made our way to the festival and were in awe at how beautiful simple (and not so simple) light displays can make something as boring as a wooden bridge look! Unfortunately photos in the dark don't do the festival justice however I have done by best with flash photography.. 

For the posh citizens there is a horse and carriage that will happily take you on a tour of the park, for the not so posh the roads are open for you to drive around the displays in the comfort of your heated cars and for the european tourists you can walk around and take photos until you're blue in the face (literally).

And for the patriotic they have the outline of Oklahoma with a dainty little heart in the middle, which we naturally took a photo off from the wrong side so it is backwards, my apologies. Typical tourists.