EmilyAnn Trail of Lights celebrates 25 years

WIMBERLEY – Strolling through local neighborhoods to gaze upon the twinkling lights and festive displays is a family tradition for many around the holidays. That’s exactly what the family behind the EmilyAnn Theatre & Gardens is hoping to continue for the Trail of Lights for years to come.

The EmilyAnn Theatre was founded in 1998 to celebrate the life of Emily Ann Rolling by providing a permanent home for Shakespeare Under the Stars — a program that she excelled in as an actress and costume designer. Rolling was born in Austin on July 16, 1980 and her family moved to Wimberley in 1993, where she attended Wimberley High School and enrolled in the theatre program directed by Gary and Lydia Wyatt.

Rolling is known to have had a passion for acting, as she participated in theatre-related activities throughout the year. She became proficient at the art of costuming, making costumes both for herself and for many of the other students in each production. In 1996, the costumes that she made for the three gods in the theatre's production of “The Good Woman of Setzuan” won the Texas Educational Theatre Association Designfest Costuming Award.

She participated in other activities including riding her horse, Sir Hasselmeier (Spot), and trained him for dressage competition. She won several awards at various competitions in the Dallas and Austin areas.

While busy with theatre productions and activities, Rolling always made time for the things that mattered most to her: family being a priority.

“I believe that Emily deserves to be known for the vivacious, cool teenager that she was. She had a rebellious side. She had an awesome side. But [she] was super family-oriented,” said Rebecca Stoian, development director of EmilyAnn Theatre and Rolling’s sister.

On Dec. 21, 1996, Rolling and her best friend, Maria Kasper, were on their way home from San Marcos when they were involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle. Rolling and the other driver were killed instantly, while Kasper suffered severe injuries. There were no witnesses to the collision and no cause was ever determined.

The family has continued to feel an outpouring of kindness and support from the Wimberley community and beyond. Rolling was buried at the St. Mary’s Catholic Church Cemetery on Dec. 23, 1996, and even though it was the peak of the holiday season, the church was packed with more than 500 family members, friends, classmates and supporters.Rolling’s parents, Ann and Norm, felt led to give something back to the community.

Along with building and maintaining an outdoor theater for Wimberley High School’s Shakespeare Under the Stars program, the EmilyAnn Theatre also hosts its Trail of Lights — a walking trail through approximately eight acres of lighted exhibits.

“Shortly after [Emily’s] death, we lit a tree on the top of the hill. We didn’t have anything else, we just lit a tree … It was actually a flagpole that we stuck lights on, sort of like the Zilker tree. People started coming out with flashlights and walking up to the top during the Christmas season,” Stoian recalled. “Over the years, it's just very organic the way it developed. So it was like every year, a few more people participated [and] a few more people participated.”

Stoian said that her family has continued the same goal over the last 25 years to have the trail be free of charge for attendees and exhibitors who put on the displays, while also offering complimentary hot cocoa and marshmallows. She said that they started out with having about 30 people walking the trail to now 35,000.

“It's grown a lot, but we've never really lost that hometown feel for it. The people that come are the most important. It's not about making money. I mean, of course it is a big fundraiser for us. It's our biggest fundraiser for the year, but we've stayed with letting people donate what they feel they can donate,” she said. “We put the flagpole up with the lights and people came, so it’s kind of a ‘Field of Dreams’ thing … We wanted to celebrate Christmas in a meaningful way, because Emily died at Christmas. So, it was a meaningful way to do the holidays for us.”

Stoian described the trail of lights as family-friendly, eclectic and fun. Attendees park at neighboring Wimberley High School and the theatre has an ADA-compliant parking lot where viewers can be dropped off at the bottom of the hill at the entrance as necessary, she explained.

“The lights start right at the beginning and what you see are 126 vignette-type displays that have all been tied together by my family. You’ll see a little HEB display on your right, so they have Buddy and then they have a little place where you can stand by Buddy and get a picture. Then, they have a big Texas that rotates. Then, you look to your left and the chamber has made a Texas sign out of lights, like red lights, blue lights and white lights. You go up a little bit and the next one is the 12 Days of Christmas from the Christian church and they have 12 panels, all showing the 12 Days of Christmas and their religious meaning,” Stoian described. “You come through and you get up to the top of that, and that's just your first hill … We have a little store, where I work, and we sell little toys that light up. We try to keep everything as inexpensive as possible, so people aren't having to spend a lot. There's a big donation box, we really encourage people to throw stuff in there.”

There are a variety of exhibitors who put on displays at the trail of lights, thus creating something that anyone young and old can enjoy.

The trail will run from 6-10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and from 6-9 p.m. all other days from Dec. 2-Dec. 26. For more information about the EmilyAnn Trail of Lights, visit www.emilyann.org/index.html or follow the theatre on its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/EmilyAnnTheatre.