The lights display extend to the western edge of the park this year.

On Thanksgiving, lights returned to Sportsman’s Park in Sleepy Eye as part of the Holiday Lights in Motion.

This was the first time since 2023 that the park was decorated for the Christmas season. Sleepy Eye Holiday Lights in Motion took a year off in 2024 but is back now.

Holiday Lights in Motion committee member Mike Suess said for 2025, the lights display once again has over 500,000 lights spread across the park with a few new displays. Suess said the goal this year was to create more three-dimensional attractions.

The three-dimensional Christmas gift in the center of the display is the best example. Suess said he and some friends welded together a wire cube, each side 10 feet in length. The cube was then wrapped in lights to create the illusion of a large present. The idea is for visitors to walk inside the giant present and take photos surrounded by lights.

Suess said the park also received an upgraded sound system. Individuals driving through the park can now listen to holiday music on the radio station, but people walking through the park will also be able to hear the music.

The lighting committee also needed to get more creative with where the lights were strung. Since 2023, the City of Sleepy Eye was forced to remove 25 ash trees from Sportsman’s Park. Many of those trees were used to hang lights, but Suess said they were able to move the lights to other trees on the western end of the park.

Suess said in order to get the park ready, volunteers began hanging lights in late October. Generally, the setup is done each weekend through November. This can be a challenge in terms of weather, but this year was kind to volunteers.

“This year we had some of the best weather we’ve ever seen for setup,” Suess said.

The weekend before Thanksgiving had relatively high temperatures with no wind. It made the entire process simpler.

Sleepy Eye’s Holiday Lights in Motion tradition began over 10 years ago. It began on a small scale with Suess setting up synchronized lights with music in his front yard. A group began discussing doing the same thing in a public space. Then, in 2014, the group received a donation of five holiday light displays from Bob Schabert of Courtland. The displays were set up in the Sportsman’s Park and the tradition grew. Each year, more lights and displays were added.

In 2016, a concession stand was introduced to the park. In 2018, the committee began offering hayrides through the park on special nights. By 2023, the show included 500,000 lights and 110 trees, including 11 trees “adopted” by businesses and organizations.

In 2024, the Holiday Lights in Motion Committee made the difficult decision to take a year off from the holiday display.

Suess said the big reason for taking a year off was to find more volunteers. It takes many volunteers to make the lights display possible. Suess said they were able to get some additional ground volunteers for the 2025 season, but said they are still looking for more volunteers; specifically, they are looking for people willing to work up in the trees.

“We need an aerial helper,” Suess said.

The aerial equipment needed is relatively easy to borrow or rent, but they need people willing and with the expertise to go up in the lift vehicles to place the lights.

“What we need are construction people,” Suess said. “Plumbers, electricians, anyone with a maintenance background.”

Suess said it is a lot of work to get ready and sometimes he’s not sure if he wants to continue, but then the visitors show up.

“Seeing everyone’s faces light up when they see all of these lights feels pretty good,” he said. “It makes you feel extra warm and fuzzy.”

Holiday Lights in Motion is free to the public, but donations are accepted.

The concession stand in the park is also free, but it will take donations. Each night, the concession stand is operated by a different organization throughout the season. The groups operating the concession stands are able to keep the donations they receive.

The lights will continue to run nightly from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. through Jan. 1. Special themed nights are scheduled throughout December.