Holiday Lights at Gring’s Mill begins its 34th year Dec. 2

It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas, everywhere you go in the Barn at Gring's Mill.

"We have all live trees this year, and the top of the Barn smells fantastic," said Lisa Gauker, recreation and special events supervisor for the Berks County Parks and Recreation Department, as the county prepared for the 34th edition of its Holiday Lights display that begins tonight.

And helping it look a lot like Christmas are a variety of nonprofit organizations.

"We’re bringing the outdoors in," Gauker continued, "as you meander down Christmas Tree Lane past all of these trees that have been decorated by different organizations to go see Santa, who's in the corner of the Barn."

Gauker had been looking for an opportunity to engage the community through the popular Christmas display.

"We have a wonderful platform of Holiday Lights, but there's also an opportunity to give back and raise awareness for some of the absolutely wonderful nonprofits that we have in Berks County," she said. "So, this is the first year we’re doing something like this."

Volunteers from Safe Berks on a recent morning worked on their tree with a background of Christmas music.

"We decorated the tree together, and there were a couple that were reliving some of their experiences and how they got involved, so it was exactly what we needed it to be," Gauker said. "It was that experience of giving back a little bit and allowing our platform of Holiday Lights to become something more."

Each tree will have information with it about the organization and a QR code that can be scanned to link to the group's website.

That afternoon, representatives from Breast Cancer Support Services in West Reading stopped in the Barn to decorate their tree.

The organization hosts a 5K race each September at Gring's Mill and was happy for the opportunity to decorate a tree, said Michele Reinert, executive director.

"One in eight women hear those words, ‘You have breast cancer,’ in their lifetime," she said. "Mix that diagnosis or the treatment with the holidays, it can be a very difficult time not only for the survivor but their family members, too. Everyone in the household is really affected by that diagnosis.

"For us to be able to put a little bit of a warmer, homier, happier spin on all of that, work it into the holidays, is really why we’re here."

Other groups decorating trees include the Animal Rescue League of Berks County, Field and Forest School, Greater Reading Mental Health Alliance, Helping Harvest and the Stoltzfus House.

The Christmas Tree Lane in the Barn is not the only attraction at the Holiday Lights this year.

During the COVID-19 pandemic of the past two years, more people than ever were visiting the displays because it was safe being outside, Gauker said.

"That forced us to rethink some of our spaces," she said.

Instead of hosting entertainment in the Barn, which had been closed due to restrictions on holding events indoors, the county set up a pavilion for the musical acts.

That proved to be popular.

"The sound carries nicely throughout the park so that when you are walking throughout the grounds you can still hear the music, even if you know you’re a distance away," Gauker said.

The parks department is also bringing back the fire pit near the pavilion.

"If you’re not physically in the pavilion, you could still very much hear and see the musicians playing from the fire pit," she said.

Holiday Lights at Gring's Mill will be open from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Fridays through Sundays to Dec. 18, and from Monday, Dec. 19, through Friday, Dec. 23. Parking and admission are free.

Special events throughout the run include the Belsnickel Dec. 10, a sensory friendly night on Dec. 14 and a solstice celebration Dec. 21.

The solstice celebration will feature a luminary lighting, and King Winter will stroll through the park and tell stories by the fire pit.

Food and drink trucks will be on the grounds each night.

A full list of events, entertainers, and food truck offerings can be found on the county parks’ Facebook page @berkscountyparks.

"This takes a lot of people to make it work," Gauker said. "Parks employees and volunteers have been working on the display since October. It's a huge undertaking, which we couldn't do without everybody that's here.

"It's also a tradition. Next year is the 35th year, so get ready."

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