It’s still only August but Homer Glen officials are thinking Christmas.
The Homer Glen Village Board, looking to create a special holiday lights experience for its residents, approved the purchase of holiday decorations for Heritage Park behind Village Hall, 14240 W. 151st St.
The contract with Lemont-based Artistic Holiday Designs is for about $149,359.
Artistic Holiday Designs has supplied holiday decorations for nearby communities such as Orland Park, New Lenox, Lockport and Lemont as well as for cities throughout the country, including Orlando, Detroit and Beverly Hills.
The light display will include several large three-dimensional items such as a 10-foot-tall gingerbread house, a 10-foot tall candy cane and several large ornaments. The Heritage Park gazebo will be encased in lights and the light poles will be decorated. Residents can walk through a large gift box as well as a hot cocoa mug that emits a cocoa-smelling mist.
The holiday display will also include Loomie, an augmented reality app for smartphones that allows visitors to play 3D games while they walk through the holiday decorations.
The new holiday lights will bring residents to the village’s signature park, create a sense of pride in the community and promote Homer Glen to out-of-towners, who will in turn spend money in the village, village manager Karie Friling said.
The former 103-acre Woodbine Golf Course is being transformed with pickleball, tennis and sand volleyball courts, nature-based play areas, a challenge course, sensory gardens, fitness stations, walking paths and more. The area will also be equipped with a sledding hill for residents to enjoy the park in the winter.
Trustee Keith Gray said residents often search the internet looking for the best holiday displays to view, and now residents can enjoy them in their own hometown.
“It will be a source of pride for our residents,” he said.
Village officials said they are currently planning for “Homer for the Holidays.” Last year’s highlights included a tree lighting ceremony, a visit from Santa, live music, a hayride and a pet costume holiday photo contest.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
