By Ken de la Bastide
The smile on Jacob Bontrager’s face was as bright as the thousands of lights that light up We Care Park for the holidays.
On Thanksgiving evening, the 7-year-old was given the opportunity to flip the switch to the massive light display. He was given the opportunity as the result of the winning bid submitted by Omeletty’s and Frittatas restaurants, in the annual auction to light up the night on Thursday.
Larry Bontrager said his son was “super excited” about flipping the switch and the limousine ride from Omeletty’s to the park.
“He’s been there every year,” Bontrager said of his son’s visiting the park. “We walk through it two or three times a night. Every child enjoys it so much.”
When he was 7 months old, Jacob Bontrager underwent a liver transplant at Riley Hospital for Children. Since 2003, he has undergone 17 surgical procedures.
“He’s a special little guy,” Bontrager said of his son. “We frequent Omeletty’s a lot, and they came up with the money.”
Bontrager said Jacob just got over a bout with the H1N1 flu virus, but that didn’t keep him home Thursday.
“I thought it was cool,” he said. “It would be special for any child in that situation to have that ability.”
Despite the light drizzle and cool temperatures, hundreds of people were on hand for Thursday’s opening ceremony.
Dressed in a Santa Claus outfit, Jacob was excited to see the real Santa Claus, who was on hand for the festivities.
Erick Carmoma, manager of Omeletty’s, said he went to look at the lights for the first time last year.
“I found out they were doing a lot of stuff for We Care and wanted to be a part of it,” he said. “We decided to help a little bit.”
Carmoma said the Bontrager family are regulars at the restaurant.
“He’s a special little kid,” he said of Jacob. “To hear his story, he’s been through a lot. We wanted him to throw the switch.”
Shaun Barker was waiting for the lighting to take place with his three children in what has become a family tradition.
Barker said the display gets bigger every year.
“The kids are more excited about seeing Santa than anything else,” he said.
Lighting up We Care Park with holiday displays was started in 1994 by Mike Wyant. IT now attracts thousands of visitors to the park.
The process of hanging the lights and displays started in August and wasn’t completed until Thursday, Wyant said. There are more than 1 million lights in the park.
• Ken de la Bastide is the Kokomo Tribune enterprise editor. He can be reached at 765-454-8580 or via e-mail at ken.delabastide@kokomotribune.com
