The Picayune readers and KBEY 103.9 FM Radio Picayune listeners selected Walkway of Lights as their favorite Marble Falls-area community event in the Locals Love Us awards. Photo by Diana Cox

The Picayune readers and KBEY 103.9 FM Radio Picayune listeners selected Walkway of Lights as their favorite Marble Falls-area community event in the Locals Love Us awards. Photo by Diana Cox

A different layout in 2018 didn’t stop The Picayune readers and KBEY 103.9 FM Radio Picayune listeners from again naming the Walkway of Lights as their Locals Love Us favorite community event in the Marble Falls area. 
No matter the layout or circumstances, voters still loved walking through the lighted sculptures at Lakeside Park in Marble Falls. 
“They love the event because it brings people together and it also brings people to our community,” said Taylor Smith, president of the Marble Falls/Lake LBJ Chamber of Commerce. “People come from all over the country and world to visit our wonderful town and get to walk next to a beautiful lake with some amazing lights.”
Planned construction at Lakeside Park altered this year’s design and shortened the number of days the Christmas lights display was open. No matter, visitors and volunteers alike came together to have another merry holiday season. 
“Thankfully, our chamber, our volunteers, the city, and the (Intermediate Sanction Facility work detail) came together and really worked hard to make sure it worked and make sure it was safe for all the people to come,” Smith said. “We utilized a different setting but had just as many lights. We squeezed as many things as we could into the space, and I thought it turned out really well.”
More than 2 million lights cover over 100 sculptures at Walkway of Lights. Each year, the chamber has worked to make the experience brighter by changing the lights in all sculptures to LED. 
After park construction finishes this summer, the chamber has big plans for the 2019 Walkway of Lights, when it can again stretch out in an area similar to what it has previously enjoyed. 
“We should be back to as much area as we usually have,” Smith said. “With the park improvements, we’ll have some underground electricity to make it easier for what we do and safer for everyone when we have wet weather.”
jared@thepicayune.com