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November 23, 2007

Fireworks, snow light up the plains

By Cass Rains, Staff Writer

The hundreds who braved the wet snow Friday night during Enid’s 14th annual Lights Up Plains were rewarded for their fortitude.

The finale of the annual event was pushed up about 30 minutes, and as crowds gathered in the middle of Independence, the glow of red, green and white bursts glowed through the snowfall on the faces of the more than 500 people downtown.

A special Centennial fireworks display culminated with fireworks shot from the rooftops of several downtown buildings, bathing those who braved the weather in haze of snowy light.

Those who stayed throughout the entire event, which included carriage rides, Santa Claus and music at the Gazebo, said the snow was not a hindrance to the event — but a help.

“It was just spectacular. It was just beautiful,” said Clint Beagley. “The snow just made it all the better.”

Clustered beneath an awning downtown, Molly Helm agreed with Beagley.

“It was a great surprise,” she said. “I’ve never seen fireworks in the snow.

“What a great way for Enid to kick off the holidays.”

As the show closed, children who had craned their necks toward the sky had to brush snow from beneath the hoods of their coats.

Blair Walker, who was visiting from Fort Worth, Texas, did an explosive jump as she gave her review of the fireworks show.

“I thought they were really cool!” she said.

With a jump from a crouch, she said: “The way they went boom!”

Walker’s grandmother, Lesley Hof-berger, described the show as “just perfect.”

Hofberger said it was her family’s first time to see an Enid Lights Up the Plains event.

“I loved it,” she said.

As the streets were emptying, Art Guilbault sought a brief reprieve from the snow under another store’s awning.

“I didn’t think the weather was that bad,” he said. “Actually, it was beautiful night.”

Guilbault’s review summed up most people’s feeling of the night’s closing fireworks.

“I thought it was awesome.

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