Day Trips: MSU-Burns Fantasy of Lights, Wichita Falls
Holiday wonderland carries on a family’s Christmas tradition begun in the 1920s
By Gerald E. McLeod, Fri., Dec. 1, 2023
The MSU-Burns Fantasy of Lights in Wichita Falls delights thousands of children every year and preserves the holiday legacy of a local couple.
At the intersection of the Christmas spirit and folk art, this is a unique trail of lights. The nightly display has grown to 46 animated scenes from the original 21 handmade by L.T. Burns. L.T. was a better engineer than an artist, so the locomotion is more exciting than the beauty of the characters.
The Burnses' holiday tradition of decorating their front yard began in the 1920s when the newly married L.T. and Lillian moved to Wichita Falls. The first year, the couple placed a Christmas tree on their front porch with a single blue light.
As L.T.'s success in the oil industry grew, so did the holiday wonderland in his front yard. Over the years the displays became more elaborate.
Driving past the Burns home became a winter tradition for the community.
By 1971, both L.T. and Lillian had died and the Christmas tradition passed down to their son, who donated the lighted contraptions to Archer City. The small town, famous for being Larry McMurtry's hometown, didn't have the resources to maintain the holiday art.
The unusual lighting displays were offered to Midwestern State University. MSU had the lawn space, but not the funds to restore, maintain, and operate the holiday tradition.
The Fantasy of Lights Committee was created to care for L.T.'s masterpiece. They flipped the switch on the first Fantasy of Lights on Dec. 4, 1974.
MSU-Burns Fantasy of Lights is in front of MSU's Hardin Administration Building at 3410 Taft Blvd. in Wichita Falls. Visitors are welcome to walk around the displays for free from dusk to 10pm, Nov. 20 through Dec. 26. Trolleys in the back parking lot take guests to see neighborhood Christmas lights for a fee. For more information, go to fol.msutexas.edu.
1,680th in a series. Everywhere is a day trip from somewhere: Follow “Day Trips & Beyond,” a travel blog, at austinchronicle.com/daily/travel.
