MANKATO , MINN. -
On a day like today, it's hard to imagine Sibley Park being a winter wonderland. But with two big gifts and a few festive tunes, the downtown Kiwanis club made today's hot day feel like a holiday.
Jon Fallenstein's mom loved lighting up their holiday display in North Mankato's Mary Circle. Fallenstein said, "Growing up Christmas was absolutely her favorite holiday she decorated for everything, but Christmas was something special."
Before their passing, Jon's parents entrusted the Mankato Area Foundation to steward their money to the community. So, when he found out the Mankato Area Foundation was donating $50,000 towards the Kiwanis Holiday Lights, he knew it was it was a match made in heaven. Fallenstein said, "This opportunity was like the perfect marriage."
President of Kiwanis's Holiday Lights, Scott Wojsik says this donation has tied the knot for the event. "I has really made this dream become a reality especially today."
Donations from the Mankato Area Foundation, CHS, and other area sponsors has brought its fundraising total to more than $90,000. Wojsik said, "We are almost to our goal for fundraising, it's very exciting cause now we know this is actually going to happen this fall and its been a lot of work and a lot of dedication for a lot of people to make it come this far."
Well on its way to the minimum goal of $125,000, the event will have everything from lights, to reindeer, and music. CHS's Terri Richter said, "We will have music playing that will be synchronized with the lights."
But it's not just the scenery that makes this event magical. Richter said, "I think part of the magic is the commitment of the people who are putting this on."
Fallenstein says, the gift of giving goes full circle. Fallenstein said, "It's so perfectly my mom, she would be perfectly over the moon about this."
