MADISON — The proverb “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade” was taken to fruition by the Rocket City Trash Pandas in 2020.
In this case, the “lemons” represented the cancellation of the team’s inaugural season and the “lemonade” was the creation of a holiday tradition that is in its fifth year.
“This event started for us at a time when we were trying to figure out how to navigate the pandemic,” said Ricky Fernandez, the Trash Pandas’ director of Marketing and Promotions. “Our inaugural season was supposed to start in April of 2020 and, one month before Opening Night, Major League Baseball announced that the Minor League season was indefinitely suspended and then eventually canceled.
“Once the reality of the situation set in, our focus had to completely shift. Now the goal was to figure out ways to use our ballpark while somehow still being compliant with federal and state regulations. A drive-thru Christmas light show seemed to be the perfect solution for the holiday season, and it proved to be an instant hit.”
This year’s Rocket City Christmas Light Show and Winter Wonderland will run nightly 5-9 p.m., rain or shine, Nov. 22 to Dec. 29.
The theme is “Santa’s Beach Party” and the musically synchronized show is about 1 1/2 miles long with nearly 1 million individual lights.
“The show has a different theme every year. So, no matter if this is your first or fifth visit, you’re seeing something brand new,” Fernandez said. “I’ve been with the team since 2019 and over the years I’ve found that Trash Pandas gear is a very popular souvenir for people visiting from out of town. I think the inverse applies during the holidays.
“When family comes to town to visit, locals can’t wait to show off what their hometown has to offer.”
Admission is $30 per vehicle, which includes complimentary access to the Winter Wonderland (on select dates) inside the ballpark. Visitors can tune their radios to 95.5 FM to hear the music that accompanies the light displays.
“People take pride in having something like this in their community and we take pride in knowing how important it is to everybody,” Fernandez said.
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