FORT BENNING, GA - I look forward to the March of Dimes Walk at Callaway Gardens every year because it combines four positives in one activity - walking, looking at beautiful lights, listening to Christmas music and the cost goes toward a good cause.
Fantasy in Lights is one of the signature holiday events in the South. Always on a Sunday around Thanksgiving, Callaway opens its Fantasy in Lights five-mile trail to walkers alone - no trolley or cars - only walkers, wagons and baby strollers.
Last year, nearly 6,000 people walked for the March of Dimes, and because the entry times are staggered, not everyone is on the trail at the same time. And regardless of what anyone might say (Tom Siter) - it's not a competitive walk.
With more than a gazillion lights - trust me, I've counted them - Fantasy in Lights is the southeast's largest light show with holiday scenes set to classic Christmas music. The lighted displays include snowflakes, a frog jumping on a lily pad, ice skaters, toy soldiers and Santa's workshop.
When Fantasy in Lights opened in 1992, there were five scenes. Now, there are more than 12 - connected to power and sound by more than 32 miles of cable, using 12 million ties to keep the cables in place and more than 3,500 extension cords keep the lights on. The newest scene, Enchanted Rainbow Forest, has 410 controlled images, almost three times the number of images used in The Twelve Days of Christmas.
To turn on the show, it takes two people at least 45 minutes to flip more than 1,000 switches. And at the end of the night, they have to flip all the switches again.
One year, after convincing friends and co-workers to experience the lights on foot, they talked about the "forced march" for weeks afterward. They didn't know my goal is to walk the Twelve Days of Christmas scene in only one repetition of the song.
One of my most favorite scenes, I actually stop, is the reflection of a tree on Mountain View Lake. I drive my daughter nuts trying to get the perfect picture. Every year, I think I've got it, but I don't, and I refuse to carry a tripod.
If you don't take the shuttle bus back to Robin Lake, you get to walk another two miles.
And on Robin Lake Beach, there are two more scenes - 'Twas the Night Before Christmas and The Nativity. These include narration and last about 10 minutes a piece.
Entry for the walk costs $16 for adults, $8 for children 6 to 12, and children 5 and younger get in free, but they need a ticket in advance. The start times are 6, 6:30 and 7 p.m. For more information, call the March of Dimes office at 706-660-0160.
And Callaway Gardens has a spectacular offer for military who want to see Fantasy in Lights. This year, Soldiers and their families can purchase a voucher from Omega World Travel for $6 a person. To purchase the voucher, they must present their military ID card.
Omega World Travel is located in the old PX, Building 9230 on Marne Road. To contact them, call 706-685-1151 between 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. weekdays or 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays or send an e-mail to mpizarro@owt.net.
The vouchers are valid Nov. 23-24, 29-30 and Dec. 1-3, 6-10, 13-17 and 27-30.
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