News : The City of Lights: Heidi Kersten named Party in the Park Grand Marshal

Party in the Park turns 25 this week and we hope that you can join us in Celebrating the City of Lights! When residents and visitors alike think about the lights of Vinton, many immediately will conjure up images of their childhood or current family traditions that involve an annual trip to visit the Kersten Christmas Lighted display just outside of town. In fact, the Kersten family has been lighting up their property and the lives of children and families alike now for 50 years. To acknowledge the time, effort, and dedication that has gone into continuing this wonderful Vinton holiday tradition, the Party in the Park Committee is pleased to announce that they have selected Heidi Kersten as the Grand Marshal for this year’s festival!

Heidi’s parents, Larry and Carolyn Kersten, began their family’s now-famous lighted display in 1964. Initially, Larry drew upon his knowledge of machinery and artistic ability to create a handful of displays that integrated moving functions. Each year, he would add new displays or lights to the yard in an attempt to continually keep the exhibits fresh and exciting. The display started off relatively small but has continually grown over the years into the incredible attraction it has now become. Larry and Carolyn both passed away several years ago but Heidi has continued to keep the memory of their love of Christmas and tradition alive. To this day, it continues to be one of Iowa’s largest private Christmas light displays that utilizes traditional and vintage bulbs; about 35,000 to be specific!

One would imagine that the time commit to stringing up lights, securing power sources and sorting out the inevitable maze of power cords has to be enormous, right? Heidi confirms that it is indeed as essentially any free time in the fall is dedicated towards getting the display ready to go. Work begins Labor Day weekend with a goal of a test-run on the display by Veteran’s Day in early November. “It’s always both a little exciting and a little nerve wracking the first time those lights get turned on,” Heidi laughingly says. “I have a better idea at that point just how much work yet lies ahead of us in preparation for the holidays.”

Heidi insists that none of the lighted display would be possible without the help from her longtime friend, Mike Hepker. Mike has worked as an electrician for Nelson Electric since about 1990 but had been interested in tinkering with power sources long before that. In the early 80’s when Mike and Heidi were both in high school, Mike started coming around and helping with the display in a variety of ways. He helped to string lights, run power cords, set up the music and shared many long discussions with Larry on how to balance power sources so that electrical hazards were avoided. Since Heidi now helms the Kersten display on her own, Mike’s assistance has become more critical than ever. Very frankly, Heidi says that “Without Mike, there is no display as he is the reason we’re plugged in and the lights are able to shine and shine safely.”

Heidi’s effort and dedication to her craft cannot be understated though. Between the months of November and December, Heidi never leaves the property unattended in the evenings when the display is up and running. In fact, she personally goes out and checks that everything is in working order about every two hours as she will find that occasionally a display will have stopped working properly or a string of lights has gone out. Heidi will bundle up and head outdoors into the usually frigid temps to fix the problem right away so that the enjoyment of the passerbys will not be diminished. When asked what her motivation is to continue to devote the amount of time required to keep this display going, she states that she loves to hear the sound of joy, laughter and wonder from children that emanates from passing cars. Its also a wonderful way in which she can keep the memory of her parents alive as well as the tradition they began over 50 years ago. Our City of Lights is certainly in a lot better and brighter spot with the Kersten display illuminating our lives!

The Kersten lighted display turns on for the first time each year on the night of Thanksgiving and goes through December 27th. The hours are Monday through Thursday 5:00-9:30 PM and Friday through Sunday 5:00-10:00 PM. The lights can be viewed at 5598 22nd Avenue Trail, Vinton.

Congratulations to our 2016 Party in the Park Grand Marshal, Heidi Kersten!