06/17/2026
Ever wonder how Fantasy of Lights began?
Who had the idea? How did it come together? And how did one Christmas celebration grow into a tradition Sealy has carried forward for 40 years?
As we prepare for the 40th Annual Fantasy of Lights, we’re going back to the beginning and sharing the story of how it all started.
Here’s the story.
In 1987, Fantasy of Lights began with an idea…
Carolyn Zapalac had seen an article in Texas Highways about a Christmas park in Wichita Falls that had become a holiday attraction, and she brought the idea to Mayor Betty Reinbeck. The thought was simple, but powerful: Sealy could do something like that too.
Mayor Reinbeck believed Sealy not only could do it – She believed Sealy should do it. But from the very beginning, the vision was never for one person, one group, or one organization to carry it alone. It was meant to be a community effort.
From that idea, Citizens United for Sealy called on businesses, churches, civic groups, organizations, families, and volunteers to come together and help make Sealy shine for the holidays. And the community answered.
Within weeks, the Sealy Chamber of Commerce and the Sealy Downtown Association both agreed to be part of the collaboration with Citizens United for Sealy. Businesses, organizations, churches, civic groups, and residents began finding ways to participate, decorate, volunteer, and help bring the vision to life.
Floats were decorated. Displays were created. Businesses dressed up their storefronts. Families decorated their homes and yards. Organizations found their place in the celebration. Volunteers stepped forward. The park became a Christmas fantasy, the parade filled the streets, Santa arrived for the children, and Sealy came together in a way that created something lasting.
Over the next several months, we will be sharing pieces of the stories behind the prior years’ Fantasy of Lights while inviting today’s businesses, residents, churches, schools, civic groups, organizations, and volunteers to be part of this milestone year.
Forty years later, the motto is still the same: Let’s be United for Sealy!
