Lights for Phalen Park show are stranded in Buffalo snow

Two semitrailer trucks headed for St. Paul with more than 60 holiday light displays have been hung up by the record-setting snow in Buffalo, N.Y., pushing back preparations for this year's Holiday Lights in the Park event at Phalen Park.

However, organizers said that they expect the charity event will kick off as planned on Tuesday, the start of a 37-day run that will end New Year's Day.

"You can't fight Mother Nature," said Kate Kelly, executive director of the St. Paul Police Foundation, which is sponsoring the event this year in partnership with the St. Paul chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association.

The trucks reportedly are stopped on an interstate highway just south of Buffalo, where several roads have been closed by as much as 8 feet of snow in the past few days.

They've been delayed for more than 36 hours, event officials said.

Volunteers had expected to begin setting up the light displays Friday. Instead, crews will spend the day getting the site ready for when the displays show up, now expected to be Sunday.

"We still believe they can safely get here and we can set up over the weekend," said event spokesman Robb Leer.

A call will have to be put out for additional volunteers this weekend, he added.

Holiday Lights in the Park is a drive-through light show at Phalen Park that features large holiday sculptures and animated displays nightly. Tickets are $10 per vehicle, with proceeds going to the Union Gospel Mission, St. Paul Parks Conservancy and the St. Paul Police Foundation. The event has raised more than $336,000 in the last six years for local nonprofits.

Kevin Duchschere • 651-925-5035