In the spirit of fun

Summerlin signaled the start of the holiday season with Hometown Holidays, an annual event celebrated by residents of the master-planned community.

Youngsters rode on "reindeer" (horses wearing "antlers"), as well as the Candy Land Express train, and young and old alike enjoyed horse-drawn carriage rides through The Trails and The Gardens villages. Even Jolly Ole St. Nick and Frosty the Snowman took time from their busy schedules to mingle with the crowd.

"Hometown Holidays has become a very popular event. We had it at two different locations this year, in both the northern part and southern part of the community, for the first time because the Summerlin community is getting bigger," said Rachel Oliphant, special events coordinator with The Summerlin Council.

For organizers, Hometown Holidays is just one of numerous special events planned for residents by the community association.

"In December, we are also holding the Festival of Lights during which residents decorate their homes with holiday and Christmas lights. We create a map, which lists the best decorated homes, that other residents can use. We expect about 50 to 60 families to participate," Oliphant said.

"Another popular event is Snow Day, which is held in January. For this, we will bring in snow for the kids to play in at The Arbors Tennis and Play Park. This is probably our most challenging event to hold because it takes a lot to bring in actual snow. It is physically a very challenging event to plan. Its success also depends upon the weather. If it is really cold and windy out, people won't want to attend, but if it is a sunny day outside, it's very popular."

Oliphant said the association's major event is the Fourth of July Fest, which is open to the public.

"Last year about 40,000 people attended our Fourth of July parade and another 50,000 watched it on television. I think the parade has grown so much over the years because the population of Summerlin has also grown. Also, I think that there were a lot of spectators (this) year due to our nation's increase in patriotism because of the events of Sept. 11," she said.

"As soon as the parade ends, we start preparing for the next year's event. Our staff of nine is completely involved with every stage; everybody has to work together to pull (it) off."

Additional festivities include the Super Bowl Plunge, Egg Hunt, Bark in the Park, Dive-In Movies and Haunted Campout.

"Summerlin has grown tremendously, and I think that one thing we will continue to do to meet this growth is to make events bigger and better every year. We will keep with tradition, but also try to have some events that the whole community will enjoy and come back to each year," Oliphant said.

Additionally, The Howard Hughes Corp., developer of Summerlin, sponsors activities that are designed to bring people into the community, such as the Invensys Classic, a PGA Tour event.

"The Invensys Classic is ... a quality event that people are excited about," Kristi Overgaard, Hughes Corp. marketing director, said.

Hughes Corp. has also sponsored Tour de Summerlin, a bike ride spanning 10, 30 and 50 miles, topped off by a festival; La Strada Dell'Arte, an Italian chalk art festival for charity; Shakespeare Under the Stars; an ice cream festival; and a birthday party for Summerlin Sam, the community's mascot.

A street dance festival and talent contest will be added to next year's calendar.

Overgaard foresees that Summerlin Centre, which is under development, will host a variety of special events once its community park opens in 2003 and its central park opens in 2004.

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