CHATHAM, Ill. (WAND) - Chatham volunteers have less than 48 hours to finish setting up Christmas lights at the community park.
There are more than 100,000 lights, and they stretch for more than a mile. Rollo Saucier and his team aim to make each festive light show better than the previous year.
"I love the winter holiday," Saucier said. "The people are so happy to come through this."
Volunteers have been planning this event for months and they've been setting up since the beginning of November. Despite their hard work, there's a moment when mother nature gets in the way.
High winds caused some damage across central Illinois. Winds were as high as 60 miles per hour. Weather experts said those type of wind speeds would be in a severe thunderstorm.
"We've made the decision to take down some of the free standing displays," Saucier said.
Fortunately, they were better off taking them down. It appears as if volunteers took one step forward and two steps back, but that won't stop the process. Volunteers have been working nonstop until late in the evening Wednesday.
The Chatham lights are a tradition going on seven years. The purpose behind the event is to raise money in order to improve the village's parks.
