Isabel Plaetz and Jane Plaetz were among the volunteers greeting people at Independence Park during Light Up the Night events last weekend. Each year, hundreds of volunteer hours make the holiday light display and events possible.

MARSHALL — It takes many hands to help transform Independence Park into a winter wonderland each year. And even once the strings of holiday lights and decorations around the park are in place, volunteers are still a crucial part of what makes Light Up the Night work, area residents said.

“It’s hours and hours of work, and it’s all volunteer,” said Jane Plaetz, one of the area residents who were volunteering at Light Up the Night last Saturday. But while the light displays and holiday events take work to put on, she said, “It is just so much fun.”

“It really takes our full community,” said Cory Brockman, marketing and development coordinator for Prairie Home Hospice and Community Care. Brockman said hundreds of volunteer hours go into the event, which helps support the services PHHCC provides.

Last weekend, area volunteers were busy directing a steady flow of people into the park for family night events at Light Up the Night. The crew included greeters at the park entrance, trolley drivers, guides leading vehicles along the drive-through trail, hot chocolate servers, and more.

“We’ve been busy tonight,” said Andrew Thielges. Andrew and his twin sister Rebecca had just parked a UTV after leading a line of vehicles through the event’s drive-through light tour. “This is probably 15 or 20 cars.”

The Thielges siblings said they had been volunteering at Light Up the Night for about three years.

“It all started with my brother,” Rebecca Thielges said.

“I saw it on Facebook, and I wanted to see what I could do to help out,” Andrew said. Getting to meet people and have a connection with the community was a big part of what made volunteering fun, the Thielges said.

Plaetz said volunteer work for Light Up the Night starts long before Christmas, with community groups helping to string lights around Independence Park. She and her husband Dennis Plaetz were part of a cycling group that decorated a tree in the park.

The Plaetzes have also volunteered at Light Up the Night for several years. Jane Plaetz said they volunteer for shifts playing Santa and Mrs. Claus, as well as other jobs. Last weekend, Jane was one of the volunteers who was greeting visitors at the entrance to Independence Park, while Dennis drove the tractor pulling the event’s trolley rides.

“It’s our passion,” Plaetz said of helping with Light Up the Night. In addition to supporting a good cause, she said, “You see a lot of people you know, from area towns.”

“It is amazing what a group of volunteers can do,” she said of the event.

Volunteers included community members of all ages. Some of the workers at the family night events included members of the Amiret Busy Bees 4-H club. Club members like Madison Wulf and Maddie and Carter Kaare were helping serve hot chocolate for chilly visitors.

“I enjoy it,” Wulf said of volunteering at Light Up the Night. Carter Kaare said it was also exciting to get to see the lights in the park.

Levi Maeyaert and Taleigha Bigler said the family night event was their second time working at the Light Up the Night exit hut. They waved to visitors as drive-through tours exited Independence Park.

“We were out here last week,” Maeyaert said. “It was a little chilly, but it was fun being out here.”

One of the best parts was getting to see all the people at Light Up the Night, he said. The light display draws people from around the area.

Brockman said it was positive to see the level of community support that Light Up the Night has received over the past nine years, especially because supporters weren’t in it for recognition, he said. “We do it for our community.”

While holiday events, trolley rides and drive-through access to Light Up the Night have ended for this year, visitors can still enjoy the light displays. There will be walk-through access to Light Up the Night through January 1 at Independence Park.