For many years, the idea of decorating Omaha with holiday lights was discussed by downtown advocates. VGA transformed this concept into a reality when Vic Gutman approached Bill Fitzgerald, then president of Commercial Federal Bank and chair of Omaha’s millennium celebration, with the idea of presenting a legacy gift of holiday lights to the city to celebrate the millennium and to serve as a centerpiece for an annual holiday festival.
In 1999, the dream of lighting downtown Omaha was realized when the city presented an unforgettable Millennium Lights celebration. The opening ceremony, which featured the unveiling of a fabulous lighting display in the Gene Leahy Mall, drew over 60,000 people. The following year, the lights were given to the city as the focal attraction of the Holiday Lights Festival.
This popular lighting event continues to fill the Gene Leahy Mall and surrounding area with festive lights and animated displays from Thanksgiving through the first week in January. The Festival also features a full schedule of holiday activities including the Thanksgiving Lighting Ceremony, Making Spirits Bright concert at The Holland, a special Family Festival, and the region’s largest holiday fireworks display – the New Year’s Eve Fireworks.
VGA manages all of the Holiday Lights Festival events which attract a combined total of 100,000 people over a six-week period. VGA also markets the Holiday Lights Festival, and the region’s other holiday activities, through a comprehensive umbrella marketing campaign.
Executive Director, Downtown Omaha Inc. Foundation
“I have had the pleasure of working with the VGA staff for the past seven years on the annual holiday celebration in Omaha, Nebraska known as the Holiday Lights Festival. Vic and his staff are very knowledgeable when it comes to organizing events of this magnitude. In addition to their organizational skills they have also been very helpful in providing professional grant writing services to help raise funds. Overall, the VGA staff is very professional, knowledgeable and extremely good at executing events on time, within budget and delightful to the intended audience.”
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