Tis the season: Palm Coast, Rotary Club of Flagler County celebrate Fantasy Lights Festival

The festival began on Nov. 30 with Palm Coast's 13th annual Tree Lighting Ceremony. The Fantasy Lights Festival, with 56 light displays, will be open nightly through Dec. 30.

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Tis the season of joy and the Rotary Club of Flagler County President Jeanette Loftus said its annual Fantasy Lights Festival is all about bringing joy to people in many ways.

“Not only does Fantasy Lights bring joy to those who attend,” Loftus said, “but the donations that are made here tonight and through the end of December … all of those donations go back to work in our community.”

On Nov. 30, Loftus opened Palm Coast’s 13th annual Tree Lighting Ceremony and the Rotary Club of Flagler County’s 19th annual Fantasy Lights Festival. The festival will be open nightly through Dec. 30, from 6:30-9 p.m. at Central Park in Town Center. Santa Claus will visit the Santa’s Village every Sunday.

Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris, in his first event as city mayor, said this was the time to celebrate “what makes this time of year so special.”

“It's a season of joy, gratitude, spending time with the people who mean the most of us,” Norris said.

The Fantasy Lights Festival has its origins in the story of Tiffany Butler, a young girl who died of a heart condition in 2002. Butler, Loftus said, dreamed of seeing a Christmas light show in Palm Coast. In 2006, her father Bill Butler, a Rotary Club member, launched the Rotary Club of Flagler County’s first Fantasy Lights event.

“Rotary gives ordinary people like you and I the ability to do extraordinary things, and that is evidenced by this fantasy lights display that was the vision of Tiffany,” Loftus said.

Nineteen years later, the festival has grown from just 16 light displays to 56 animated light displays and weekly visits from Santa Claus at Santa’s Village, according to a press release from the Rotary Club of Flagler County.

The 2023 festival raised over $30,000 for local nonprofit organizations and scholarships for local high school seniors, the press release said.

Norris he couldn’t help but reflect on how fortunate they all were to live in a community like Palm Coast.

“This city is more than just beautiful,” Norris said. “It's full of good-hearted, hard-working people who make it truly special.”

 

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