On Thursday night, the biggest light show between Dallas and El Paso was lit up for this holiday season.
Odessa’s famously extravagant Starbright Village Christmas light show was opened to the public at McKinney Park at 625 N. Pool Road.
The opening ceremony included performances by local choirs, dance groups and an appearance by Santa Claus.
The village was first created in McKinney Park in the early 1990s.
This year’s opening was a return to normal after last year’s event was a little downsized due to COVID-19.
For City Parks and Recreation Director Steve Patton, this year’s opening night festivities were a welcomed return to normal.
“The biggest difference between this year and last year is that this feels real,” Patton said. “Last year was a whole different story because of COVID. This year, we decided because it was safe enough and the numbers were good enough for us to host this event onsite rather than how we did it last year. Everything is about the same as it has been in the past.”
A big crowd was out on hand at the park to celebrate the start of the Christmas season in the Permian Basin.
The weather wasn’t a disruption as temperatures were in the low 70s at around 6:30 with clear skies.
“People have been asking about this event and the weather couldn’t have been anymore beautiful,” Patton said. “It’s absolutely gorgeous tonight. Everyone is excited to get out and do something.”
Thursday’s display was only a walk-through. But beginning Friday, people will be able to drive through at the park.
Located just off I-20, the light display will run every evening from 7-11 p.m. through Jan. 2.
Every year, people from all over the state make their way over to see Starbright Village.
It also attracts a big number of Odessans.
For Odessan Lenette Jimenez who is a mother of two (Samara, 10 and Prometheus, 11) bringing her family to Starbright Village every year is a tradition.
“We’ve been coming since my son was born,” Lenette said. “He was born on Dec. 9 of 2009 and the following year, we started coming here and have been ever since.”
Part of the reason Lenette and her family enjoys coming out to Strabright Village is a sense of community pride.
“We feel like we’re all together as a town to bringing in the holiday spirit,” Lenette said. “The free hot chocolate doesn’t hurt either.”
Thursday’s event saw the Chuck Wagon Gang and free hot chocolate with food trucks offering meals.
Patton says the preparation for the event takes well over a month.
“The excitement and the preparation are everything,” Patton said. “We’ve been working on this for over six weeks from sun up to sun down. It’s just a tradition and community event. We have a passion for this event. We love to do this for the entire Permian Basin to enjoy and people like to make this a part of their holiday festivities. … My passion is providing something that families will enjoy and something that Odessa and all of the Permian Basin will enjoy. There is no better reward than to see the smiles on everyone’s faces.”
Mayor Javier Joven and his grandkids lit the village.
“This is one of the things that I’ve been looking forward to as mayor. I’ve wanted to do the Christmas lighting and my grandkids got to do it tonight,” Joven said. “I get to show off my family, which is something that I don’t get a chance to do. We’ve enjoyed Starbright Village and we’re excited.”
This year’s display will include over 300,000 lights and feature 80-plus lighted displays as Christmas music plays.
Last year’s display saw a record 268,000 visitors.
“Everyone is excited,” Joven said. “They’re ready for Christmas. The city is ready to get into the mood. I want everyone to enjoy this and I want to give kudos to our parks department and to everyone. The amount of work that it takes for everyone to make this work is huge. Also, I want to give kudos to the police department and city staff and manager to make sure these events run without a hitch and make sure that everyone’s secure.”
Admission is free to the event.
If you go
- What: Starbright Village.
- Where: McKinney Park, 625 N. Pool Rd., adjacent to Interstate 20.
- When: 7-11 p.m. every night through Jan. 2.
