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WELCOME TO WHAT'S HAPPENING IN GRAND PRAIRIE.
I'M GEORGIA CLEMSON, AND WE ARE HERE ON LOCATION AT PRAIRIE LIGHTS.
WELCOME TO WHAT'S HAPPENING, MISS EMILY.
I AM SO EXCITED TO BE HERE AND SO EXCITED THAT YOU GUYS ARE HERE WITH US ON LOCATION OF PRAIRIE LIGHTS.
ALL THE LIGHTS AND THE EXCITEMENT.
NOW, TELL US WHAT OUR VIEWERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT COMING TO PRAIRIE LIGHTS.
SO WE'RE CELEBRATING 18 YEARS OF PRAIRIE LIGHTS THIS YEAR, WHICH IS JUST INCREDIBLE AND WE'RE SO PROUD OF THAT.
AND THIS YEAR NEW FOLKS CAN GET A NEW EXPERIENCE, BUT THEN ALSO FOLKS THAT HAVE BEEN COMING FOR YEARS, 50% OF THE LIGHTS ARE BRAND NEW.
SO EVEN IF YOU'VE BEEN HERE TIME AND TIME AGAIN WITH YOUR FAMILY, THERE'S STILL A WHOLE NEW EXPERIENCE OUT THERE FOR YOU, WHICH WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT.
SO MANY LIGHTS, AND FOR SOME REASON THIS YEAR THEY SEEM LIGHTER AND BRIGHTER.
YEAH, SO THIS YEAR WE HAVE A LOT OF NEW LED PANELS, SO YOU'LL SEE IN SOME OF THE SECTIONS THEY'RE A LITTLE BIT BRIGHTER, A LITTLE BIT CLEANER, NEW TECHNOLOGY.
WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IT AND YOU'LL SEE SOME REALLY COOL STATIONS.
I ESPECIALLY LIKE THE PIRATE AREA.
IF YOU CHECK IT OUT WHEN YOU GUYS GET HERE, UM, THERE'S A LITTLE MERMAID THAT I LOVE TO SEE.
AND I LOVED IT WHEN WE FIRST CAME IN AT ALL THE POINSETTA FOR SURE.
THE POINSETTA ARE REALLY AWESOME.
AND COMING BACK, THERE'S A SPECIAL POINSETTA TUNNEL RIGHT BY THE FAMOUS TUNNEL THAT EVERYBODY LOVES TO GET PICTURES OF.
NOW WHEN WE COME OUT HERE, I KNOW IT'S A FAMILY TRADITION FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE ALREADY, BUT IF THEY'RE NEW, TELL US, UH, HOW WE GET A TICKET AND HOW WE GET WHERE WE ARE.
SO YOUR BIGGEST RESOURCE IS PRAIRIE LIGHTS.ORG, SO THAT HAS OUR VIEWER GUIDE, UM, TICKET SALES, ALL OF THAT.
THE BASIC GENERAL ADMISSION PRICE IS $50 PER CAR.
AND THEN IF YOU WANNA BRING A BIG GROUP, LIKE A CHARTER BUS OR A LIMO OR SOMETHING, WE HAVE ADDITIONAL PRICING FOR THAT.
WE EVEN HAVE A SPECIAL TREAT CALLED FAST PASS, WHERE IF YOU PAY A LITTLE EXTRA, YOU GET TO ENTER, UM, AND SORT OF CUT THE LINE AND BE FIRST INTO THE PARK, WHICH, IF YOU'VE BEEN TO PRAIRIE LIGHTS, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES THE LINES CAN BE LONG BECAUSE IT'S SUCH A GREAT ATTRACTION, BUT FAST PASS IS A GREAT WAY TO GET INSIDE A LITTLE SOONER.
AND EMILY, WHAT ARE THE DATES AND TIMES THAT PEOPLE CAN COME? YEAH, SO PRAIRIE LIGHTS OPENED ON THANKSGIVING AND WE'RE OPEN SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, UH, NOW THROUGH CHRISTMAS EVE.
SO THE LAST CAR, UM, IS ALLOWED IN LINE AT 10:00 PM AND WE OPEN THE GATES AT 6:00 PM SO, UM, SOMETIMES FOLKS WILL LINE UP AS EARLY AS FOUR OR FIVE, UM, AND WE, WE SEE A PRETTY STEADY LINE OF TRAFFIC THROUGH THE NIGHT.
IF I WANTED TO AVOID THE TRAFFIC, WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST NIGHT TO COME? YEAH, SO WE DEFINITELY ENCOURAGE FOLKS TO COME DURING THE WEEK IF THEY WANNA AVOID TRAFFIC.
SO IT'D BE A GREAT, UM, AFTER SCHOOL EVENING THING OR WHEN SCHOOL GETS OUT, UM, JUST TO AVOID THE CROWDS.
YOU CAN COME MONDAY THROUGH THURSDAY AND YOU'LL SEE A LOT LESS CROWDS, UM, VERSUS THOSE WEEKEND NIGHTS.
EMILY, I'VE ALWAYS LIKED TO REMIND PEOPLE IF THEY HAVE KIDS OR GRANDKIDS THAT THEY'RE BRINGING, THEY MIGHT WANNA BRING SOME SNACKS OR GOODIES OR SOME KIND OF ENTERTAINMENT WHILE THEY'RE SITTING WAITING.
WELL, I WOULD ACTUALLY SAY, UM, HOLD OFF ON THE SNACKS BECAUSE WHEN THEY GET TO HOLIDAY VILLAGE, WE HAVE A WHOLE LINE OF CONCESSIONS THAT ARE REALLY AWESOME.
UM, OUR HO HOT COCOA IS FABULOUS.
I HAVE CONSUMED TOO MANY CUPS TO COUNT AT THIS POINT ALREADY.
UM, AND OUTSIDE WE HAVE A FUNNEL CAKE VENDOR THAT'S SELLING NINE VARIETIES OF FUNNEL CAKES THIS YEAR, WHICH IS SO FUN.
UM, SO I WOULD DEFINITELY SAY SAVE YOUR HUNGER AND GET SOME CONCESSIONS AT HOLIDAY VILLAGE.
AND THERE'S PLENTY OF TIME TO WALK AROUND WHEN YOU'RE DOWN HERE AND WE'LL FILL UP YOUR BELLIES WITH SOME GREAT SNACKS AND COOKIES AND TREATS.
AND THE KIDS WILL ESPECIALLY LOVE THAT.
NOW, UH, WHEN I COME IN THERE ABOUT HALFWAY, THERE'S A TENT, CORRECT? YES.
SO HOLIDAY VILLAGE IS OUR SPECIAL LITTLE HALFWAY POINT.
SO ABOUT HALFWAY THROUGH THE COURSE YOU'LL SEE A BIG GIANT WHITE TENT AND YOU'LL GET TO PARK AND GET OUT.
AND THAT'S REALLY LIKE A WHOLE NEW LEVEL OF FUN.
I MEAN, THAT'S WHERE THE CONCESSIONS ARE LOCATED.
WE EVEN HAVE VENDORS WHERE YOU CAN SHOP FOR CHRISTMAS GIFTS, UM, AND SANTA IS HERE, SO THAT'S PRETTY AWESOME.
WE'VE GOTTA HAVE SANTA ALWAYS GOTTA HAVE SANTA IN A PHOTO WITH, UH, THE FAMILY AS WELL.
AND IF I WANTED TO TAKE MY, SAY I WANTED TO TAKE MY OWN LITTLE PHOTO FOR MY CHRISTMAS CARD OR SOMETHING, WHERE WOULD I GO FOR THAT? YEAH, SO THERE'S LOTS OF STATIONS THROUGHOUT THE HOLIDAY VILLAGE THAT ARE GREAT FOR FAMILY PHOTOS.
WE LOVE SEEING GROUPS COME IN, PAJAMAS AND MATCHING OUTFITS LIKE THAT IS THE MOST PRECIOUS THING.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE AN ADDITIONAL WALKTHROUGH OUTSIDE WHERE YOU CAN LIKE WALK THROUGH TUNNELS AND IT'S LIKE A MINI VERSION OF PRAIRIE LIGHTS ON YOUR FEET.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S A GREAT PHOTO SPOT FOR A LOT OF FAMILIES AS WELL.
YES, I'VE SEEN THE ONE WITH THE BIG WREATH.
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JUST ADORABLE OUT THERE.YEAH, WE, WE LOVE THAT THERE'S SO MANY PLACES FOR FOLKS TO COME SO WE CAN FIT AS MANY PEOPLE IN AND GET TO EXPERIENCE THE EVENT IS POSSIBLE.
AND THE WALKTHROUGH IS A REALLY GREAT WAY TO KINDA GET YOUR FEET MOVING AFTER YOU'VE BEEN IN THE CAR FOR A LITTLE WHILE AND GET TO SEE MORE LIGHTS.
NOW, IF I WANTED TO COME OUT HERE AND, UM, DO ALL OF THIS, IT'S ALL INCLUDED IN THAT ONE TICKET PRICE.
SO LOTS OF THINGS ARE INCLUDED IN THE TICKET PRICE, RIGHT.
UM, IN THE $50 GENERAL ADMISSION YOU WILL HAVE CARNIVAL RIDES INCLUDED.
SO WE HAVE TWO RIDES OUTSIDE THE TENT THAT ARE FREE, UM, WITH YOUR ADMISSION.
ALL OF THE WALKTHROUGH PART IS INCLUDED WITH YOUR ADMISSION AND THEN ACCESS TO THE HOLIDAY VILLAGE.
SO THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT COST A LITTLE EXTRA, UM, THE CONCESSIONS IF YOU WANNA BUY ANYTHING FROM OUR VENDORS AND SANTA PHOTOS.
SO, UM, WE'RE EXCITED THAT SO MUCH IS INCLUDED WITH THE TICKET, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU COME THAT THERE ARE SOME THINGS WITH ADDITIONAL COSTS.
AND WHAT A WONDERFUL WAY TO HAVE FAMILY FUN AND COME AND START YOUR OWN CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS RIGHT HERE AT PRAIRIE LIGHTS.
NOW, DO YOU HAVE A TEAM THAT'S WORKING WITH YOU AT PARKS AND REC? YEAH, SO THE PARK ARTS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, UM, REALLY PUTS THEIR WHOLE HEART AND SOUL INTO THIS EVENT.
THEY'VE BEEN OUT HERE SETTING UP THE DISPLAYS SINCE OCTOBER 1ST.
SO, UM, YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF US OUT HERE FROM NIGHT TO NIGHT, UM, HAVING A LOT OF FUN AND SAYING HI TO EVERYONE.
I MEAN, IT'S REALLY SUCH A GREAT TIME OF YEAR FOR US AND WE'RE SO EXCITED TO CELEBRATE WITH EVERYONE.
EVERYBODY HAS WORKED SO HARD AT PARKS AND REC.
I ALWAYS WANNA GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO THEM AND THANK THEM.
AND OF COURSE, UH, THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AS WELL.
WE'RE SO GLAD TO PARTNER WITH THEM AND I'M REALLY THANKFUL FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS AND HELPING SANTA HAVE A GREAT TIME AT PRAIRIE LIGHTS AS WELL.
AND TELL OUR VIEWERS ONE MORE TIME HOW TO GET THEIR TICKETS AND TO COME ON OUT TO PRAIRIE LIGHTS.
YEAH, SO CHECK US OUT ON PRAIRIE LIGHTS.ORG.
YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM AT PRAIRIE LIGHTS TO BUY YOUR TICKETS.
SEE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS, KNOW BEFORE YOU GO, AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL SEE YOU SOON.
I THINK ONE TIME WHEN I CAME THAT WE HAD TO, WE TUNED INTO A RADIO STATION THAT PLAYED MUSIC.
DOES THAT, DO WE DO THAT NOW? YEAH.
SO, UM, WE, WE RECOMMEND VIEWERS, UM, LISTENING TO 1 0 2 1, UH, THE RADIO STATION.
IT'S NOT PAIRED WITH THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS, UM, BUT ACTUALLY IF YOU DRIVE THROUGH THE LIGHTS AT THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS SECTION, IF YOU ROLL DOWN YOUR WINDOWS, WE ARE PLAYING THE 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS, WHICH IS A FUN LITTLE TREAT, BUT 1 0 2 1 IS THE RECOMMENDED RADIO STATION FOR FOLKS VIEWING.
EMILY, THIS IS SUCH A FABULOUS SETTING FOR OUR SHOW TODAY AND WE'RE SO GLAD THAT YOU'RE HERE IN GRAND PRAIRIE.
I KNOW THIS IS YOUR FIRST YEAR TO BE IN GRAND PRAIRIE PARKS AND REC.
IS THAT CORRECT? YEAH, I'M EXCITED.
I MEAN, I TELL EVERYONE THIS IS THE COOLEST JOB EVER.
HOW LUCKY AM I TO WORK FOR A DEPARTMENT THAT PUTS ON SUCH A GREAT EVENT? SO I'M EXCITED TO BE HERE AND, UM, THANKFUL TO BE A PART OF THIS TODAY.
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LETTING US BE HERE.
YOU'RE A WONDERFUL HOSTESS FOR US HERE AT PRAIRIE LIGHTS AND WE WISH YOU A MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS.
GRAND PRAIRIE IS CHANGING THE SCHEDULE FOR GARBAGE AND RECYCLING PICKUPS STARTING OCTOBER 2ND.
GARBAGE PICKUPS NORTH OF WARRIOR TRAIL WILL BE ON TUESDAY AND FRIDAY.
GARBAGE PICKUP SOUTH OF WARRIOR TRAIL WILL BE ON MONDAY AND THURSDAY AND RECYCLING PICKUPS WILL CHANGE TO WEDNESDAY FOR THE ENTIRE CITY.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE NEW PICKUP SCHEDULE, VISIT GPTX.ORG.
AND IT'S THE TIME OF OF YEAR THAT WE CAN THINK ABOUT GIVING BACK TO LOCAL CHARITIES.
WE HOPE YOU'LL KEEP THAT IN MIND AND BE A BLESSING TO THOSE WHO ARE IN NEED AT THIS TIME OF YEAR.
AND NOW JOINING US FROM THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IS MICHELLE MADDEN.
AND YOU'VE BEEN SPENDING A LOT OF TIME HERE, CORRECT? I HAVE.
AND ALL OF MY HELPERS OUT HERE AT PRAIRIE LIGHTS.
WORKING FOR THE CHAMBER THIS TIME OF YEAR.
UH, I THOUGHT MICHELLE'S CAR JUST DROVE HERE AUTOMATICALLY BECAUSE SHE SPENDS SO MUCH TIME HERE.
NOW MICHELLE, TELL EVERYBODY WHAT YOU DO OUT HERE.
WELL WE ARE SO PLEASED TO BE PARTNERING WITH THE CITY OF GRAND PRAIRIE AND WE PROVIDE PICTURES WITH SANTA OUT HERE AT PRAIRIE LIGHTS.
IT'S BEEN YEARS AND YEARS, SO MANY YEARS THAT WE HAVE FAMILIES COME IN AND TELL US THAT THE VERY FIRST PICTURES THEY'VE EVER HAD WITH THEIR BABIES WITH A SANTA WAS WITH OUR SANTA.
TRUE SANTA IS HERE AND UM, IT'S A WONDERFUL ATMOSPHERE HERE IN THE TENT.
AND UM, THAT IS SO EXCITING WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT THE FAMILIES
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AND THE BABIES BECAUSE THEN THEY WANT TO BRING THEM BACK THE NEXT YEAR TO GET THEIR ONE YEAR, TWO YEAR AND SO ON.AND WE ARE A FAMILY TRADITION, JUST LIKE PRAIRIE LIGHTS IS.
WE HAVE TONS OF VOLUNTEERS THAT HELP US OUT HERE FROM CHAMBER MEMBERS THAT COME OUT AND HELP US SERVE THE PUBLIC TO OUR STUDENTS FROM G-P-I-S-D.
AND WE ARE SO THANKFUL FOR THAT PARTNERSHIP AS WELL.
IT GETS OUR KIDDOS, UH, VOLUNTEER HOURS AND HELP SERVE THE PUBLIC AND IT'S A GREAT TIME FOR EVERYBODY.
AND YOU HAVE A VERY SPECIAL SANTA AND MRS. SANTA SOMETIME, CORRECT? SOMETIMES YES, SOMETIMES.
SO THAT MAKES IT MORE FUN AS WELL.
NOW IF I WANT TO COME OUT AND BRING MY KIDS AND FAMILY AND GET A PHOTO, WHAT DO I DO? WELL, YOU COME ON OUT, COME THROUGH THE FRONT GATE AND ENJOY THE LIGHTS, HEAD OUT TO THE HOLIDAY VILLAGE.
OUR PHOTOS RANGE FROM $15 UP TO 50 IF YOU WANNA GET MULTIPLE SHOTS ON A THUMB DRIVE.
BUT WHEN YOU COME OUT, YOU WILL LEAVE WITH YOUR PRINTED PHOTOS AND THEY ARE PROFESSIONAL FINISH.
AND WE ARE HAPPY TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR KIDDOS ARE SMILING, THE BABIES LOOKING THE RIGHT WAY.
SOMETIMES THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN, BUT YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES SOME OF THOSE BEST PICTURES ARE WITH THE I KNOW, JUST CAPTURING THE MOMENT SOMETIMES.
SOMETIMES UH, KIDDOS AREN'T IN LOVE WITH SANTA THE FIRST TIME AROUND
AND THOSE ARE SOME OF THE FUNNIEST THINGS.
AND YOU HAVE A GOOD PHOTOGRAPHER.
WE HAVE A WONDERFUL PHOTOGRAPHER, VERY EXPERIENCED.
WE CAN ALMOST ALWAYS GET LITTLE ONES LOOKING UP.
YOU CAN BRING YOUR GROUPS FROM EITHER YOUR SINGLE CHILD ALL THE WAY UP TO WE'VE, I THINK WE'VE HAD 20 PEOPLE IN A PHOTO BEFORE.
SO WE JUST PAN BACK, EVERYBODY SMILES, WE HAVE PLACES TO SIT AND THEN AT THE END EVERYBODY GETS A LITTLE CANDY CANE AND A AND A GOODBYE.
WELL, UH, TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE CHAMBER.
I KNOW THAT THE CHAMBER, UH, SUPPORTS A LOT OF ACTIVITIES MM-HMM
BUT, UH, IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE GOING ON THAT WE NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THAT THE CHAMBER IS ABOUT TO PRESENT? UH, ABSOLUTELY.
WELL, FIRST I WANNA THANK OUR SUSTAINING MEMBERS.
WE HAVE A GROUP OF BUSINESSES THAT CONTINUE TO SUPPORT US YEAR AFTER YEAR, ABOVE AND BEYOND THEIR REGULAR MEMBERSHIP INVESTMENT.
AND SO I THANK THEM AND THEY CAN BE SEEN ON OUR WEBSITE, BUT ALSO THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR BRINGS A LOT OF GREAT EVENTS FOR THE CHAMBER AND NOT ONLY OUR MONTHLY EVENTS, BUT THINGS LIKE OUR COMMUNITY AWARDS.
AND SO THAT IS OUR NEXT BIG EVENT AND YOU CAN FIND OUT DETAILS ABOUT THAT AND HOW TO NOMINATE COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND BUSINESS MEMBERS FOR AWARDS THAT ARE GONNA HAPPEN TOWARDS THE END OF JANUARY.
WE WANT TO MAKE SURE TO RECOGNIZE THE CONTRIBUTORS TO OUR COMMUNITY.
AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A CHAMBER MEMBER TO NOMINATE SOMEONE, IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE A CHAMBER MEMBER TO NOMINATE.
AND I THINK THAT OPENS IT UP, MAKES IT A, A WIDER SPECTRUM OF CHOICES, UH, NOMINEES AND SUCH.
AND YOU KNOW, WE ARE NOT, WE DON'T KNOW EVERYBODY AT THE CHAMBER.
SO IF YOU KNOW A COMMUNITY MEMBER THAT'S DOING FANTASTIC WORK, PLEASE BRING IT TO OUR ATTENTION.
WE WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO HONOR THEM.
AND THERE ARE VARIOUS, UH, AWARDS, CORRECT? CORRECT.
WE HAVE PROBABLY 10 TO 12 AWARD CATEGORIES.
SOME ARE FOR CHAMBER MEMBERS ONLY, BUT SOME ARE COMMUNITY.
AND SO PLEASE GET ON THERE AND CHECK THAT OUT.
AND THEN WE PRESENT THEM IN FEBRUARY, IS THAT CORRECT? YEAH, VERY BEGINNING OF FEBRUARY WE'LL HAVE OUR EVENT AND IT'LL BE A GREAT CELEBRATION.
IT'S A DINNER AND IT'S USUALLY KIND OF A FUN SHOW TOO, WITH A THEME.
AND WE'LL BE REVEALING WHAT THAT THEME IS SOON.
AND SPEAKING OF FUN, IF YOU REALLY WANT TO HAVE A FABULOUS CHRISTMAS AND HOLIDAY SEASON, YOU NEED TO COME TO PRAIRIE LIGHTS, GET A PICTURE WITH SANTA, AND ENJOY ALL OF THE GOOD TREATS AND THINGS THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR YOU HERE AT PRAIRIE LIGHTS.
YOU MAKE OUR CHRISTMAS BRIGHTER EVERY YEAR.
AND THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US.
WE WISH YOU THE MEST CHRISTMAS EVER, A BLESSED NEW YEAR, AND WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT YEAR.