The “Christmas in the Park” season opened like gangbusters. On Saturday, the parking lots in front of Cassidy Park were all filled, with the overflow on the adjacent property.

Volunteer Roosevelt Ludd said he had been keeping count by “clicking” a hand-held device.

“The crowd is bigger than normal,” he said. “I estimate that we will have had 500 people come in when the night is over.”

The draw is the fanciful feeling prompted by the more than a million colored lights in forms like angels, dragons, elves, Teddy bears, tin soldiers, and a lot of different shaped stars.

“It’s beautiful and it’s magical,” Brook Webb said. “And, especially during this season, I want my child to experience that magic.”

Thousands of men, women, and children will walk or ride through Louisiana’s version of a “winter wonderland,” but the organizers still were surprised by a half thousand visitors in one night.

There is a new arch that welcomes everyone to Bogalusa where the “covered bridge” was, before it got flooded out in March of 2016. The arch includes a toy soldier on both sides of the central path.

There are smaller new displays as well, so visitors — even the regulars — should stay alert.

The “Christmas in the Park” light display will be open nightly on Dec. 8-10, and Dec. 15-25. Drive through is open from 6 p.m. through 7 p.m. Walk-through is from 7 p.m. through 9 p.m. The admission is $4 for adults, $1 for students, and $8 per car during the drive-through hour.