Who's ready for the holidays?
12th Annual Lighting Ceremony
Friday, November 29th, 2024
7PM Blue Earth Plaza
The countdown is ON!
"Thanks again to our incredible local sponsors each year, you are the ones who
make this possible & the Manhattan Community thanks you."
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THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHTS IS BROUGHT
TO YOU BY LOCAL BUSINESSES
FOR THE GREATER MANHATTAN COMMUNITY
Whoville, Inc. is a group of local Manhattan business owners and community leaders who love to give back. They formed a not-for-profit collective in order to create the Festival of Lights.
Their mission is to bring our community closer together by providing curated events and magical displays that are open to the public throughout the holidays. Since it began in 2013 the Festival of Lights has been embraced by the Manhattan community and has become a place to create family traditions and lifetime memories. The Festival of Lights is fully funded annually by generous local individuals and businesses.
IT ALL STARTED WITH AN IDEA...
It was springtime in 2013, tulips blossoming, trees swaying in the wind...and the foundation at the south end of Manhattan freshly settled. Poyntz Avenue was shaping up with new businesses opening and just beyond, the town had expanded to include a diverse array of new opportunities for our community: The Discovery Center, Hilton Garden Inn, Blue Earth Place, Candlewood Suites and Fairfield Inn anchored the newly named Blue Earth Plaza, and in 2014 were followed by Radina’s Bakehouse, CivicPlus and the Holiday Inn Express & Suites.
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It was longtime local businessman, Colin Noble, who first had the vision to inaugurate the area with a grand holiday tree in Blue Earth Plaza. He called upon Brad Everett & Gwyn Riffel to expand the idea, wherein Wade Radina joined, ultimately forming Whoville, Inc. It was this group of leaders, together with Ward Morgan and June Schnittker of Master Landscape, Inc. who caused a simple idea of a holiday tree to expand into Manhattan's Festival of Lights! And so the overarching goal in one short year has grown into a commitment by this group and many more to hold an annual event at the beginning of the holiday season to bring our community together in celebration.
Be part of something spectacular!
Our #MHKTraditions are not possible without the help and support from local elves like yourself. Help us continue our traditions and make our 12th year the best one yet!
2024
5
GOLDEN RINGS
$10,000+
4
Calling Birds
$5,000+
Steel & Pipe Supply
Butler Community Fund
Fairfield Inn
Joann Goldstein Family
Heineken Electric
Master Landscape, Inc.
Foley Equipment
3
french hens
$2,500+
Farmers State Bank of Oakley, KS
Radina’s Bakehouse
Palmer Law Group
Midwest Concrete Materials
Amy Everett – Whoville Express Foundation Fund
Manhattan Wrecker Service
Holiday Display Services
Community First National Bank
Kohlmeier Orthodontics
cw insurance
Gina & Gwyn Riffel
Civic Plus
Wynn & Mary Ann Butler
Bayer Construction Company, Inc.
Bill & Sharon Snyder
The Stolzer Family Foundation
Kansas Fencing, Inc
WTC
Roger Lansbury
JS Signs
Central National Bank
Capital Federal
Manhattan Chamber of Commerce
One Egg Group
Jerry & Belinda Snyder
briggsauto.com
2
turtle doves
$1,000+
Santa's
helpers
$999 & under
Lee & Jackie Borck
Mark & Ann Knackendoffel
Keith Westervelt
Mark & Pamela Hatesohl
The Trust Company
Servpro Team Marchese
Landmark National Bank
Candlewood Suites
Orazem & Scalora Engineering. PA
Barbara Hayter
Yorgensen-Meloan-Londeen Funeral Home
BHS Construction
Mead Lumber
Outdoor Bank
HyVee
Aggieville Business Association
The Fridge
AJ’s NY Pizza
Thomas Signs
Mid-States Recovery
Viktoriya Pottroff
Santa's
helpers
$100 & under
McCullough Development, Inc
Jerry & Betty Banaka
Transamerica
Caterpillar Foundation
Regina Davidson
Terry & Heidi Francis
James & Mary Genandt
Corinne Lenz & Steve Witte
Marcia & Tim Rozell
Scuilla family
Cynthia Amano
Jelane & John Cook
David (Lewis) Guthals
Katherine Hummels
Mark & Susan Hungerford
Marcella Parillo
Bruce & Rosemary Ramundo
City of Manhattan
MHK Fire Dept
Riley Co. Police Dept.
82nd Brigade Battalion Group
Wann Towers
Greg & Cheryl Buchanan
Brenda Butler & Joel Woodward
Young Trustees
Gary & Elaine Gordon
Seaton Law Group