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Find out where you can go walking through a Winter Wonderland
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Take a walk through the Land of Enchantment’s own Winter Wonderland, a holiday light display coming to Expo New Mexico.
Founder Kori Kobayashi said he started Winter Wonderland during the COVID-19 pandemic as a drive-thru holiday event and has continued it to provide an immersive experience.
“They’re not just driving past something, but they’re really getting to spend time with it, take photos, and do it in a safe environment with their family around them, and truly make it a holiday experience,” Kobayashi said.
He said a significant focus of Winter Wonderland is uplifting the community, supporting fundraising efforts for the Ronald McDonald House and the Northern New Mexico Toy Drive.
Janet Lovato, a board member for the toy drive, said the organization conducts fundraising and donation drives to collect toys for children around the state, and events like Winter Wonderland help them achieve that goal.
“The more people that know about the Northern New Mexico Toy Drive, the more exposure we get, and then the more kids we can help,” Lovato said.
There will be a large donation day on Dec. 14 at the Winter Wonderland, Lovato said, and boxes and QR codes will be available throughout its entire run.
She hopes to collect more toys for the older kids and said there is a list at exittoydrive.com/amazon-wishlist for the most wanted gifts.
Albuquerque Little Theatre will also make an appearance at the Winter Wonderland, putting on scenes from its upcoming “A Christmas Story: The Musical,” which opens Dec. 5.
“They’ll have small ensembles come in and do a live short preview from their actual performance,” Kobayashi said, “and so it’ll be one way to have something cool and different happening inside the event.”
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Along with the Albuquerque Little Theatre, princesses, The Grinch and, of course, Santa Claus, are scheduled to make appearances.
“We had one family and they come every year,” Kobayashi said, “and they have a dog that is a large breed dog that comes over and jumps right in Santa’s lap every year, because it’s like, his thing.”
“And they’ve been doing that ever since the dog was a puppy,” he said. “So it’s really cool to see a lot of the people come back every year.”
Kobayashi said he dedicates a large area to luminarias, a holiday tradition in New Mexico.
“All the lights are off, except for the luminarias,” he said.
“It’s a really special experience.”
