Park Street Wagon Rides to return this Christmas

Nov. 29—One of Greenville's most popular holiday events, Christmas on Park Street, is scheduled to return this year.

The Park Street Historical Association has announced the horse-drawn carriages and wagons will again be taking riders along a tour of one of the city's most elaborately lighted neighborhoods. Activities are scheduled to take place between 6 and 9 p.m. Dec. 9, 10, 16 and 17.

Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for children and children who can sit on a parent's lap will be admitted for free. Ticket sales are limited and are dependent upon wagon capacity for the evening.

The wagons will proceed east from the parking lot of Park Street Baptist Church to the turn around at the east end of Park Street and then west to the Biblical Garden at Kavanaugh United Methodist Church, turn around and then return to the starting point. The time for each ride is about 40 minutes.

All proceeds collected during the events go to the Park Street Historical Association, a neighborhood organization devoted to preserving the historical importance of Greenville.

The wagon rides are entering their 29th year as a local holiday staple, but it didn't start out that way.

In a 2018 story for the Herald-Banner, Park Street resident Dennis Mathis recalled that the whole idea of the event had humble origins.

The concept of the entire neighborhood joining in a holiday display began in the early 1990s, he said. As soon as the decorations idea took hold, Mathis said the Walter Krodle family came up with the notion of offering wagon rides through the neighborhood.

"We checked with the Baptist church," Mathis said. "In 1993 is when we started the wagon rides and we charged a whole $2 per person."

The Park Street Historical Association also hosts the city's big July 4 parade.

Additional information about the association or the upcoming wagon rides is available online at parkstreetgreenville.org/.