Krug Park Drive closed for Holiday Park work
Nov. 1—The lights are going up at a St. Joseph holiday favorite.
Krug Park Drive closed to traffic starting on Nov. 1 as crews begin work on the 2024 Holiday Park.
Jeff Atkins, assistant director of the parks department, asked the community for patience while workers set up the holiday extravaganza.
"During this month, we just ask for everybody to be patient with us," Atkins said. "We are working, we're not closing your park just to close it."
Atkins said minimizing risk is the main reason for the closure.
"For the safety of our crews, for the safety of the people driving through the park, we found it's just better to close the drive while the guys are working," Atkins said. "Again, it's for their safety, it's for your safety, it's for the safety of the displays themselves. It helps us to protect what we're laying out out here."
Krug Park still is open to visitors, with parking available around the lagoon and in the lower lily pond parking lot.
Since it started in 1981, Holiday Park has provided a fun holiday light display for area residents as a partnership between the East Hills Optimists Club and the parks department. Atkins said they try to add something new to Holiday Park every year, providing even more reasons for people to come out year after year.
"We always try to make little changes and kind of encourage people to come and just try to find what's new," Atkins said.
The ongoing Krug Park renovations will not affect Holiday Park this year. The display is set to open on Friday, Nov. 29.
Crews also will be setting up Hyde Park's South Pole this month. It also opens on Nov. 29.
The 2024 St. Joseph Missouri Parks, Recreation, and Civic Facilities holiday commemorative ornament is now available for purchase featuring the South Pole at Hyde Park. The ornament costs $12 and it can be purchased at Remington Nature Center, 1502 MacArthur Drive; the Parks Administration Office, 1920 Grand Ave.; Bode Ice Arena / Bode Sports Complex, 2500 Southwest Parkway; the St. Joseph REC Center, 2701 Southwest Parkway; and City Clerk's Office at City Hall the following locations during regular business hours.
