Area athletic complexes turn on the lights

Stadium lights across Minnesota were lit up on April 6 as part of the #BeTheLightMN campaign. Perham’s Arvig Park, Krueger Field and Meinhover Field had their lights on for 20 minutes in honor of the class of 2020.

The original event started in Texas and caught on quickly in Minnesota. Many schools across Minnesota have already participated in the event. However, many of them started the new tradition on April 6. More than 200 schools across Minnesota participated in the event.

Perham Activities Director Erin Anderson said the school thought it was a creative idea to honor students, especially the seniors.

“We first saw the #BeTheLightMN campaign on John Millea’s MSHSL Twitter feed late last week and Mitch Anderson and I both discussed it. We thought it was a creative idea to honor students, especially the Senior Class of 2020, as well as remind the whole community that we are teaming up together in this unprecedented time. We did want to monitor it a little bit and see if the idea gained momentum, and when it was clearly doing so, we decided to join with and add Perham High School to the mix of schools shining a ”light of hope” so-to-speak,” Anderson said. “It’s symbolic to light our athletic fields to recognize our students who have lost out on their seasons, but it’s also a way to unify our community and point us toward hope together.”

The lights will continue to be turned on every Monday for the foreseeable future during the COVID-19 pandemic.

1/2: The press box at Ted Meinhover Field is lit up by the lights at Meinhover Field for the #BeTheLightMn campaign that started on Twitter. More than 200 schools participated in the statewide event. ( Jason Groth / Perham Focus)

2/2: Arvig Park in Perham was lit up for 20 minutes during #BeTheLightMN campaign throughout Minnesota. More than 200 communities participated in the event. The parks will be lit up for 20 minutes each Monday night. ( Jason Groth / Perham Focus)