West Virginia Press Association Staff Report
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – It was announced, on Tuesday, that the Salango Law “Light the Night” holiday extravaganza will return to Charleston in time for Thanksgiving. Now in its second year, the Light the Night event will once again be presented by GoMart, and held at GoMart Ballpark.
Light the Night’s return was announced during a press conference Tuesday, at the Miller Lite Clubhouse inside GoMart Ballpark. Participating in the press conference were Team Owner and CEO Andy Shea, General Manager Ben Blum, Media Relations and Community Engagement Manager Jill Gearin, Ben Salango with Salango Law, and Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin.
Blum began by praising the Dirty Birds team for a solid start to the second half of their season, noting, “But today we’re not here about baseball, we’re here about Light the Night.”
“I’m honored and very excited to announce to everyone today, that beginning November 15 this year, we’ll have the second annual Salango Law Light the Night,” Blum said. “We’ll be open this year, from November 15 until January 1. We’re planning, at this point, to be open seven-days a week.”
Blum added that, due to the “overwhelming support of our fans and community,” the event will be expanded for 2024. This year will feature 500,000 more lights than 2023, for a total of 2.5 million. There will also be additional hours for ice skating and other activities, Blum explained.
“We expanded the ‘Fun Zone’ this year for baseball, so we’re going to do the same thing for Light the Night,” Blum said. “We also have mini golf, and there will be additional group activities this year, with opportunities for outings.”
The support of Dirty Birds fans and the Charleston community as a whole was expanded upon by Salango, who said, “None of this would have been possible without the city’s tremendous investment in turf here at GoMart Ballpark. […] Having a turf facility is what made this all possible.”
“As a business owner, we get a lot of sponsorship requests,” Salango added. “I thought it would be successful, but I had no idea we would have 120,000 people from 42 different states attend the event. […] Every night we were breaking an attendance record.”
Adding to Salango’s comments, Jill Gearin noted that during the 2023 holiday season, attendees visited the ballpark from Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and Canada. Gearin further noted that more than 350 cities in West Virginia were represented at the event.
Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin was next to the podium, and called last year’s event “fantastic.”
“You just heard all the great numbers, and those are super important,” Goodwin said. “But what it means to me is having a space and a place where families can be together, and be connected. When I think about holidays, that’s what is most special, and these folks make it happen.”
In addition to the world class light display and real ice skating rink, the Light the Night event features family friendly rides, a wide array of food and snack options, and a host of vendors for holiday shopping. Ice skate rentals and skating aids are available, and the event is handicap accessible, something that was of particular importance to Owner Andy Shea.
“Two of the most frequently asked questions we receive are: is it stroller accessible and stroller-friendly, and is it wheelchair accessible and wheelchair-friendly?” Shea explained. “So take a step back and think about that from a true ‘circle of life,’ and every moment within that of who this is special for and who was able to enjoy this – and make those memories.”
“Seeing those different things was just so encouraging, but also just so motivating for us as we started looking at what will Light the Night 2024 look like?” Shea noted. “That’s what it is for our family, but what’s so gratifying and cool to see is that that’s what it’s about for so many other families.”
“So as we look at everything this year – it’s all about expanding, it’s all about how can we do that much more for families, and how can we do that much more for the community?” Shea added. “I’m so pumped.”
Tickets for Salango Law Light the Night 2024 go on sale Thursday, August 15. GoMart Ballpark is located at 601 Morris Street in Charleston. For more information, visit dblightthenight.com.
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Feature image: City of Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin and Kanawha County Board of Education President and “Head Elf” Tracy White.