An inflatable Santa Claus — part of Lights in the Park, organized by the Rapid River Business Association — waits for an approaching Masonville Township fire truck carrying Santa, who then greeted families in the pavilion at Masonville Township Park. (Daily Press file photo)

RAPID RIVER — Rapid River Business Association’s Lights in the Park Christmas display is well underway.

For the first three Saturdays in December, the Rapid River Business Association hosts the free drive-through display in the Masonville Township Park in Rapid River. Attendees can drive through the park or hop on a hayride to view the displays from 6 to 8 p.m. this Saturday and Dec. 20.

“It started after COVID. Everybody was kind of blue,” said Bobbi Ryan, owner of Jack’s Restaurant and member of the Rapid River Business Association. “We said ‘Let’s just throw some lights in the park’ and that’s how it started. We thought it was just going to be like, do it one year but nope.”

Organizers did not anticipate the number of people who showed up to drive through the park when it began.

“We want to also thank the Michigan State Police for helping us with traffic, because the first year, we backed up traffic nine miles on the highway. We had no idea that that’s what we were going to be dealing with,” Ryan said.

Lights in the Park features hayrides through the display route as well as a concession stand run by student volunteers from the Rapid River Key Club. Santa will also be in attendance each weekend.

Some businesses that have displays in the show include Jack’s Restaurant, the Rapid River Dairy Flo, the Rapid River Pub, Bay Bank, D&D Dog Dynamics, Enbridge and more.

“(Enbridge) has a big display and they also volunteer. They’re out there a lot,” Ryan said.

The business association welcomes monetary donations at Lights in the Park, which go towards purchasing food for local pantries and necessary items for the light displays. They ask attendees to donate nonperishable food items to go toward local pantries as well.

After the devastating fire at House of Ludington in Escanaba on Friday, the Rapid River Business Association announced all donations made last Saturday would go to the House of Ludington’s employees. They raised a total of $1,300.

“And we took probably a pickup load and a half of food over to the local pantry (Calvary Lutheran Church), also,” he said.

Any food collected this week will again go to Calvary Lutheran Church in Rapid River, and food collected the last week will go to RRN’s “Stuff the Studio” Food Drive.

Ryan noted the Rapid River Business Association is always looking for volunteers to direct traffic at the park or to take down each display on Sunday, Dec. 21.

“We spend a month and a half getting it all put out there and then one day to take it down, so it’s a little complicated and we can use all the help we can get on that last day,” Ryan said.

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Sophie Vogelmann can be reached at 906-786-2021 or svogelmann@dailypress.net.