Spirit of Springfield holds Bright Nights appreciation breakfast

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - The Spirit of Springfield hosted an appreciation breakfast at the Sheraton Springfield on Tuesday to celebrate 30 years of Bright Nights at Forest Park.

The three-mile drive-thru event featured many festive scenes and over 750,000 lights. It’s been running since 1995 with over seven million visitors to date. This past season, it was sponsored by a several organizations, including American Medical Response, Baystate Health, Big Y, Comcast, Eversource, Health New England, MassMutual, MGM Springfield, and more.

Proceeds from Bright Nights at Forest Park help to fund the Spirit of Springfield’s annual budget, which allows the non-profit organization to present large-scale events. Spirit of Springfield President Judy Matt said showing appreciation for the hundreds of helpers and organizations means a lot to her personally. “The kind of things people don’t realize goes on behind the scenes. The people at the front gate, the people working the gift shop, there’s just so many people involved and, as long as it runs seamlessly and smoothly, no one has to think about that until it does happen. The backbone is the crew, the set up and take down, and that’s what we’re really here for: to acknowledge them,” she explained.

It’s a way’s away, but Bright Nights at Forest Park’s 31st season will open on November 26.

The Spirit of Springfield is now planning for perhaps their biggest event of the year: the annual World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast in Springfield on May 17.