Commissions, parks staff weigh Winterglow future as volunteer base shrinks; town hall and joint subcommittees planned

Commissioners and parks department staff spent a major portion of the meeting discussing the future of Winterglow, Liberty Lake’s seasonal holiday-light display, after city council raised questions about scale and staffing. Volunteers who historically ran and supported the event have thinned in recent years, and park staff told commissioners they are preparing a “transition year” that assumes minimal volunteer help.

“Winter glow for 2025 will be smaller than it was in 2026. Let’s be let’s be honest. The manpower or woman power or people power will not be there,” a long-time Winterglow volunteer said, describing volunteer shortages and the event’s technical needs.

Parks staff project that, if volunteers do not return in numbers, the city will need to supply substantially more staff time and budget. “What staff is preparing for and what staff is studying for is the fact that we are basing this on no volunteers,” Parks Department staff member Jen Dial said, summarizing the staff approach discussed with council. Dial and other staff said the first year under city management would likely be smaller in scale and called the period a transition year.

Commissioners and staff reviewed Winterglow’s operational complexity and hidden, year-round work: staging and repairing fabric displays, replacing lights, electrical and structural work, and a multi-step setup that historically required dozens of volunteers and many hours of labor. Long-time volunteers recounted early years when more than 50 people helped; more recent seasons have seen a volunteer core as small as seven. Volunteers and staff listed the major display elements that require planning and labor, including an “enchanted forest,” the “zoo” display, snowman structures in the splash pad, a gingerbread house, large “mega” trees (some 25 feet tall), three-dimensional animals, arches along walkways, and many two-dimensional displays.

Commissioners and staff agreed on several next steps: the city council is expected to revisit Winterglow at its May 6 meeting; the Community Engagement Commission and the Parks and Arts Commission will each form a Winterglow subcommittee and coordinate with Parks Department staff; and the commissions will hold a town hall meeting (targeted for late May) to recruit volunteers, solicit sponsors and explain the transition to residents. Commissioners suggested recruiting service clubs, faith groups, construction trade organizations and HOAs for one- or two-day volunteer shifts and proposed assigning specific displays or tasks to organizations rather than relying on ad-hoc signups.

Parks staff said they would prepare more detailed cost and capacity information for council and requested permission for commissioners to convene the working group and help plan the public town hall. Staff cautioned that weather (heavy snow) and staff workload could force further scaling of the event in 2025 and that the first year under city oversight would require a period of learning and adjustment.

Commission members and staff also proposed that representatives from both commissions appear at the May 6 council meeting to report on progress and the proposed joint committee. Several commissioners volunteered for the working group and for help with outreach; parks staff offered to provide logistics support and templates for promotion.