The City of Waco Mayor Dillon Meek counts down from five as anticipation builds in the crowd. The lever is pulled, and Waco’s Christmas tree lights up while fireworks pop in the background. Waco Wonderland is back in person after being held virtually last year.
As the COVID-19 pandemic raged on during the holiday season of 2020, the City of Waco Parks and Recreation Department was forced to move Waco Wonderland, the city’s annual holiday celebration, online to protect citizens. Last year’s Waco Wonderland event featured a virtual tree lighting ceremony, fireworks, storytime with Santa and recorded musical performances. During the scheduled days of the virtual event, organizers saw an increase in website traffic, social media reach and news mentions, said Megan Davis, one of the organizers.
Maggie Johnson had attended Waco Wonderland for four consecutive years prior to the pandemic and was one of the community members who participated in the virtual event. She watched the fireworks broadcast for the 2020 Waco Wonderland, and though it was a little “weird,” she saw it as a sign of the times, she said.
The pandemic is far from over with as variants such as Delta and Omicron continue to cause risk and uncertainty. Amid the health and safety concerns of the pandemic, the decision on how to best host Waco Wonderland wasn’t put on city council’s agenda until October, when it was decided Waco Wonderland would be in person, Davis said. From that moment, organizers rushed to complete plans for the event before December 3.
“We had about six weeks to plan a full-blown event which was quite challenging but quite fun,” Davis said. “We had our large elements on standby. We had our marketing efforts and everything kind of planned out with our marketing strategies. So, once we were given the OK to move forward, we hit the ground running.”
While it might seem stressful to switch from in-person to virtual and then back to in-person again, Davis said it was an interesting time. For the virtual event, City of Waco Parks and Recreation members had some experience with other events before putting together the virtual Waco Wonderland. With the return to in-person, they were able to use their experiences from past years. Davis has been involved with Wonderland since it started.
“We have a really good, well-oiled machine with Waco Wonderland,” Davis said. “Myself and my team were able to pull together and look at the print we’ve had in the past but add a few additional elements to freshen it up this year.”
While many events stay the same throughout the years, organizers try to add new elements when they can, Davis said. Along with bringing back Santa, the tree lighting, fireworks and musical performances, organizers added real reindeer and vehicles lit up with Christmas lights for attendees to view and photograph.
Even with many things staying the same as past years, not having the normal Waco Wonderland experience last year kept it from being boring, Johnson said. Everything seemed brand new and exciting again, she said.
The anticipation for Waco Wonderland to return was noticeable among community members. Prior to the tree lighting ceremony and fireworks show, around 7,000 people marked that they were interested in attending or going to attend Waco Wonderland on the opening night event Facebook page. Organizers estimate that between 25,000 and 30,000 people attended the event over the three days, compared with 20,000 and 25,000 in previous years.
With the overall increase in attendees, they saw an increase in wristband sales for rides and an increase in parade attendees, Davis said. The increase in parade attendees was most noticeable, she said. In past years, the heaviest crowds were packed in the first five blocks of the parade, but this year the entire parade route was packed.
Despite continuation of the pandemic and emergence of multiple variants, there were no health and safety requirements or recommendations provided for attendees to follow. Masks were scarce at the event, but individual attendees did different things to protect themselves while still enjoying the holiday fun.
Following the announcement that Waco Wonderland would be in-person this year, Johnson was excited but a little hesitant, she said. The virus is still a concern to her, so she wore a mask and tried to practice social distancing when possible.
Another attendee, Ernestina Sandoval, said she wasn’t as concerned since she has been fully vaccinated and received her booster shot. But with her vaccinations, she said she was cautious and carried hand sanitizer and hand wipes.
Sandoval is a nurse and has been busy through the pandemic, so she enjoyed taking the time to relax and spend time with her 5-year-old and 14-year-old daughters, she said. Waco Wonderland returning to an in-person format made her happy and hopeful that things were starting to return to some semblance of normalcy.
Sandoval said she likes Waco Wonderland because, despite their age difference, both of her daughters were able to enjoy activities at the event, such as arts and crafts and rides. She appreciated the affordability and variety of the event, she said.
Johnson attended Waco Wonderland events all three days the celebration lasted. She watched the fireworks with her nephews, attended the parade with friends and family and took her nieces to see Santa.
“Being with my family and friends, making all those memories and being happy, that’s what this time of year is about, and Waco Wonderland has really over the years helped keep that alive for us,” Johnson said.
Because Davis has been involved with Waco Wonderland since its inception, it’s dear to her heart. She puts her all into organizing the event as a way to give back to the community, and after the positive response from the public, she said, she’s pleased with the outcome.
“We left with smiles on our faces,” Davis said. “A bit tired on Sunday evening after a long weekend, but smiles on our faces, ready to plan for it again next year.”