Guided lights
It's only fitting for one of Wichita's oldest neighborhoods to gather everyone around one evening of the holiday season to see the city streets at their brightest. That's what College Hill will do Dec. 13 with its 15th annual Christmas Lights Trolley Tour.
You can ride a trolley, walk or take your own car to see yards outlined in luminarias and stately houses iced with lights.
At least, let's hope that's all that's iced.
A couple of years ago a winter storm kept the number of walkers down, but many people still piled onto trolleys, left the driving to the experts and saw a festive panorama out the windows.
"There were maybe 10 of us, and my family has six," said John Wickham of the Wichita Skywalkers, who took his family on the walk that year. Last year high winds marked the night, so Wickham hopes this third year will be a charm for the walkers.
The trolley rides and walk take off from East Heights United Methodist Church, at the corner of Douglas and Crestway. Trolley tours will set off every 10 minutes from 5:30 to 9 p.m., and tickets are $6 (free for children 2 and under). Tickets will be for sale starting Monday at Traditions, 3224 E. Douglas, and are sold for a specific time. If any tickets remain on Sunday, they can be bought at the church in the morning, in the afternoon and at the time of the tour, as long as they last.
If you take the trolley, you'll be able to enjoy complimentary coffee and hot chocolate at the church's coffeehouse, cookies and some of the history and architectural details of College Hill as given by tour guides on the trolley.
The church's children also will have a living nativity with animals, going through the Christmas story with Scripture and song every half hour from 6 to 8 p.m. (the last presentation starts at 7:30).
"We have a lot of volunteers come in to do the coffeehouse and greet people," Paige Nelson of East Heights said. "Our young adult group is helping this year. A lot of people come just to be part of it."
A committee of the sponsoring College Hill Neighborhood Association will drive around the neighborhood on Tuesday night to choose a route that will showcase the best of this season's lights.
If you decide to take in the neighborhood on foot, you will have a choice of two routes with the Wichita Skywalkers — a 5K that's about 3 miles, or a 10K that's about 6 miles. The Skywalkers will charge $2 to cover their costs, which includes a map and written instructions. You can set off anytime between 5:30 and 7 p.m. from Hedrick Hall in the church. The walk is not a group walk, but if you arrive early enough, you should be able to walk with other people if you want, Wickham said.
"It's a really neat walk," Wickham said. "Our family, despite the weather, we've really enjoyed it because it's so pretty there. People go all out on their decorations, so it's really a fun walk."
And, of course, you can always piggyback on the festivities and drive or walk your own route, either that night or another during the holiday season. College Hill is bounded by Hillside and Oliver and by Kellogg and Central.
This story was originally published December 5, 2009 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Guided lights."