DO NOT contact the Evansville Parks & Rec. Department or Visit EvansvillePlease DO NOT contact the Evansville Parks & Recreation Department or Visit Evansville with questions regarding Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights. If you have questions that are not answered on this page, please contact Carolyn Franklin, Director of Special Events, at 812.437.2607 or CFranklin@evansvillerehab.com.
(Please note the Easterseals Rehabilitation Center will be closed from December 24, 2023 to January 1, 2024. If you need immediate assistance, please email Carolyn Franklin at CFranklin@evansvillerehab.com and she will return your message as soon as possible.)
Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights is open nightly from Thanksgiving (Nov. 23, 2023) through New Year’s Day (Jan. 1, 2024). Hours are 5p.m.-9p.m. Sun.-Thur. and 5p.m.-10p.m. Fri.-Sat, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights is located in Evansville’s Garvin Park adjacent to Bosse Field. Please enter using the North Main Street entrance, underneath the lighted arches for all vehicle traffic, except carriage rides. For carriages rides, please enter the Bosse Field parking lot from Heidelbach. See map on Directions to Garvin Park page.
IMPORTANT: During the hour before opening and the hours of Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights (3:00 pm to 10 pm), please enter the Deaconess Aquatic Center from Morgan Avenue. This is an entrance behind the pool. Pool patrons will NOT be able to access the pool from Main Street during the evening hours of Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights from Nov. 23 – Jan. 1. Barricades will be blocking the front entrance to the pool and the parking lot from Main Street during the evening hours. All traffic to the pool MUST go to the back entrance to the pool, no exceptions. During busy nights, there will be a line of traffic waiting to drive through Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights and pool patrons will not want to be in these lines. For safety concerns, pedestrian traffic is not allowed on Main Street in Garvin Park due to the high volume of vehicle traffic during the hours of Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights.
Admissions fees are paid at the ticket booths located inside the North Main Street entrance to Garvin Park, underneath the lighted arches. Cash is accepted at the ticket booths. Credit card purchases are also available.
All proceeds from Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights benefit the Easterseals Rehabilitation Center. Admission is per vehicle and remains the same, affordable price for 2023:
Checks are NOT accepted for entrance fees to Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights. However, if you would like to make an additional donation in the form of a check, you may do so at the ticket booth. Checks are accepted for carriage rides.
Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights is a fundraiser for the Easterseals Rehabilitation Center, which provides therapy for more than 5,000 local people with disabilities. There are no ticket discounts or coupons for individual tickets.
Advance tickets are available at all G.D. Ritzy’s locations in Evansville. Advance tickets are also available at the Easterseals Rehabilitation Center located at 3701 Bellemeade Ave. M-F 8am-5pm. at our front counter. Advance tickets purchased may be purchased by cash or check.Carriage rides are cash-only and not available online.
Quantities of tickets (starting at 50 tickets) are available in advance for a reduced cost. These make excellent stocking stuffers for employees or family and friends! Please contact Carolyn Franklin, Director of Special Events, at 812-437-2607 or email CFranklin@evansvillerehab.com.
Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights is a local event organized by the Easterseals Rehabilitation Center. The event is set up and taken down each year by dozens of volunteers from IBEW Local 16 (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers), Teamsters Local 215, IUOE Local 181 – Operating Engineers, the Southwestern Indiana chapter of NECA (National Electrical Contractors Association), and Electrical JATC (the Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee). An estimated 3,500 hours will be donated by these amazing organizations and dozens of community volunteers for Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights this year.
Ritzy’s is the generous main sponsor of this event. Other major sponsors are IBEW Local 16, NECA, Teamsters Local 215, Electrical JATC, IUPAT DC-91, IUOE Local 181 Operating Engineers, ABC 25/CW 7, Evansville Living, Lamar Advertising, 104.1 WIKY, HOT96, 93.5 The Lloyd, and 107.5 WABX.
Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights is a rain or shine event. In the event of extreme bad weather such as ice, a decision to close will be made prior to the event’s opening time and posted on the Easterseals Rehabilitation Center’s social media pages and reported to local media outlets. Please use caution when driving through the park on evenings where snow may cover the ground and stay inside your vehicle at all times. Carriage rides are available until Dec. 31, 2023, weather-permitting. If the carriages will not be available, every effort will be made to post that information on the Easterseals Rehabilitation Center’s Facebook page, facebook.com/EastersealsRehabCtr
Technically, yes. Garvin Park is a public park; HOWEVER, the park is closed for this paid fundraiser event each evening. Please note,we strongly discourage walkers, runners, joggers, etc. from being in the park at night during Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights due to safety concerns. The Easterseals Rehabilitation Center and exhibit sponsors will not be held responsible for accidents from failure to follow these precautions.
No. One ticket is good for one trip through Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights. All proceeds from ticket sales benefit the Easterseals Rehabilitation Center to help provide therapy for local adults and children with disabilities.
For one night only, Wednesday, December 6, the 2023 Ritzy’s Fantasy of Lights event will be closed to vehicles and carriages and open ONLY to runners, walkers, and persons using wheelchairs or other mobility equipment for “Bright Lights for Easterseals” – a 5K timed run AND 1-mile family-fun walk!
5:45 p.m. | $25 ($30 after Nov. 17): 5K Run 6:15 p.m. | $5 (ages 2 and under free): 1-mile walk
Shirts are included in the 5K if you sign up by Nov. 17. More Information on Bright Lights 5K and the 1 mile walk is detailed on a separate page on this website.
Proceeds from Bright Lights for Easterseals help fund inclusive early education and therapy for local children and adults with disabilities.
For questions or to volunteer, contact Rhonda Trail, 812-430-3833 or rhonda_trail@yahoo.com
