Every winter, downtown Austin is lit up by the festive Trail of Lights, which was started by a small group of Austinites in Zilker Park. Since 1965, it has become a popular attraction and a symbol of the local holiday spirit with over 400,000 people attending each year.
What is known as the Trail of Lights today started with a local gathering known as the Yule Fest where Austin choirs caroled around a unique log in Zilker Park. In the 50 years since its founding, the Trail of Lights has become home to more and more attractions every year. In 1967, the 155 foot tall Zilker Tree became the world’s tallest man-made Christmas tree and still stands today. Just as the number of attractions grows every year, so does the size of the crowds. The trail gives people a time to experience a unique holiday adventure that is unlike any other, according to freshman Pierre Odom. Odom has been going for many years and makes sure to incorporate it into his holiday plans.
“I probably go every year, with my friends and family because it’s just a really good place to all hangout and bond, at such a special place and time of the year,” Odom said.
Many students at LASA even take the time to spread the holiday cheer by volunteering at the trail with organizations like LBJ Cares and National Honor Society (NHS), according to LBJ Cares president junior Abby Greendyk. Greendyk has volunteered for the trail for years.
“Last year, me and my friend signed up and we were in charge of making people hot cocoa and giving people cups and little cookies plus making sure they had their little passes, and it was really fun,” Greendyk said.
The trail is a non-profit event, so the spirit the volunteers bring to the trail helps create the experience, according to Greendyk. She said the trail relies on dozens of volunteers each year and that she is happy to be one of them.
“I think that obviously, it wouldn’t happen without the volunteers, its all, or most of it is based on the Zilker, Trail of Lights Association, but I do feel like most of it is run by volunteers which is super cool, and you’ve got people who are from all different backgrounds there, and you have people doing all different things there,” Greendyk said. “You have people doing first aid, you have people making food for people, or people performing. You have all these different things, so like it represents a part of Austin.”
Before volunteering at the trail, Greendyk said she went there as a kid with her family. She said she fondly remembers her time as a kid when she volunteers at the trail.
“My grandparents live like right near Barton Springs so we would always go to their house during Christmas time and then we would go to the Trail of Lights together and then I would go sleepover at my grandma’s house, it was really fun,” Greendyk said.
Although it is only open for a few weeks every year, the Trail of Lights takes months to plan, organize and execute. From January until the gates open on the first night, dozens of creative personnel, engineers and builders work together to create the decorative lights. Creative team leader Bobby Garza has been working on building and making the trail glow for the past four years and he particularly enjoys the design phase-out of the 12-month process.
“I really like the design phase because that’s where we get to sit around with a bunch of people and sort of dream up what we think is kinda going to be interesting and compelling for people and then see if we can actually make it work,” Garza said.