DES MOINES, Iowa– Make-A-Wish Iowa addresses the concerns that arose after it was announced Jolly Holiday Lights would be donating $1 per vehicle to the organization.

Jolly Holiday Lights is an annual holiday light display in Des Moines. For over 25 years, the event has been organized by Make-A-Wish Iowa and helped provide funds to grant over a thousand wishes to children with critical illnesses across the state. 

This year, the event is under new ownership. Winterland Incorporated is an Indiana-based winter holiday decoration provider. They manufacture light displays in Indiana and distribute them across the country. 

This year’s Jolly Holiday Lights display is their first light display in Iowa, but they have history with the event. Madalyn Graham, the Light Parks Director for Winterland, said they have partnered with Make-A-Wish Iowa for a decade. 

“Every year when you would go drive through their show, the lights you would see were our lights. We would come put them up. We would come take them back down. So, incredibly natural fit for us to take the show over,” said Graham. 

Winterland will donate $1 from every ticket sold this year to Make-A-Wish Iowa. 

Under a Facebook post from WHO 13 News about this year’s Jolly Holiday Light display, many have shown concern for the seemingly small donation in comparison to the ticket price. 

However, according to Make-A-Wish Iowa, the new owners for Jolly Holiday Lights allows Make-A-Wish Iowa to focus more on their mission. 

This is a statement Make-A-Wish Iowa CEO Sara Kurovski provided WHO 13 News: 

When a non-profit manages an event-based fundraiser, the revenue is always inconsistent. The weather, other local holiday events, when school is out for vacation, if our favorite college football teams are in bowl games, if Christmas falls on a weekend, more light shows in the metro, etc., all play into the attendance at the light show. When Make-A-Wish Iowa oversaw the operations, sponsors covered the expenses so 100% of each vehicle could go to wish granting efforts. Having Winterland take over and lead the light show, removes the overhead that was always required to be in the operations budget for Make-A-Wish Iowa. This allows for Make-A-Wish Iowa to spend the resources on the mission and focus on more efficient ways of fundraising. Additionally, should anyone be concerned about where their money is going, they can donate directly on our website and it will help more than 300 children waiting for a life changing wish in Iowa.

Sara Kurovski, Make-A-Wish Iowa CEO

In other words, Make-A-Wish Iowa no longer needs to designate part of their budget to organizing the event and they still receive a donation, despite not having to do any work for the event. 

Graham said the event welcomed almost 1,000 vehicles in just the first two nights of the display. As a result, about $1,000 will already be donated to Make-A-Wish Iowa from just the first two nights the display was open. 

The Jolly Holiday Lights display is available every night through January 4, 2025. It is located at the Iowa State Fairgrounds and the entrance is at Gate 2, near the intersection of East University Avenue and East 33rd Street. On weekdays, the display is open from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., and on weekends from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. 

Tickets are $20 per vehicle or $50 per bus/limo, and they can be purchased online or at the gate.

Click here for more information on Make-A-Wish Iowa.