People of the Sioux Falls area have many options when it comes to enjoying local Christmas displays. Some locations are well known, while others are hidden away.
During December, Falls Park near downtown Sioux Falls lights up with millions of Christmas lights. Michael Williamson of Dakota Holidays in Sioux Falls says seeing the Falls Park light display is breathtaking.
"It’s amazing when that gets lit up, and I’ve been there a couple times when they’ve actually flipped the switch," says Williamson. "It’s second to only being on the strip in Vegas when the sun goes down and all the lights come out."
Also during the holiday season, over a dozen neighborhood streets within Sioux Falls are renamed in conjunction with a specific Christmas theme. Candy cane lane, snowflake lane, Santa Clause lane, train lane, and fireplace lane are just a few examples.
Cindy Whisler lives on fireplace lane. The decorations in front of her house include a fireplace as the centerpiece, but that structure is surrounded by many cartoon characters made out of plywood.
"We started with a fireplace, and then of course you have to have something on top, so Snoopy laying on the dog house was the first idea," explains Whisler. "And then when you have Snoopy you have to have Charlie brown and Lucy. And then we did Garfield, Garfield and Otti, and those were our first ones."
Today, Whisler has over 65 cartoon characters in her front lawn. She says for the past 31 years, she has added at least one new character to her display each year.
