WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – During the holiday season, seeing a festive display is nothing new — but for one combat veteran, he is looking to get results for mental health while spreading a bit of Christmas cheer.
George Weston, who retired as General Manager of Strates Shows in 2021, returned to work in 2023 to create a Christmas Wonderland display in Winter Garden.
For 13 years, he was behind a memorable Santa display at Waterford Lake until the property was sold for development.
The display is now at the Strates Shows carnival grounds in Winter Garden, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary in business.
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Weston said he spent more than 50 hours methodically creating the Santa Workshop display.
The workshop features over 30 gigantic light displays, Santa’s Magical Midway, delicious fair food, and Santa Claus.
Weston said he and Santa have been working together for 13 years. Originally with Weston at Waterford Lakes, Weston said that when the winter village moved to Winter Garden, Santa came with him.
“The wonderful thing about that is that families come from all over because imagine the same photo, the same Santa as your family grows up,” Weston said.
On a typical day, Weston said he would pass out 400 to 500 candy canes, which represent one child for one candy cane.
In a press release, Strates Shows shares that Weston is a decorated Vietnam Veteran who received multiple awards for his service.
George shared that he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, but he puts positive energy behind the display, and creating an environment for happy family memories helps him get through difficult memories of Vietnam and — in his own words — “grounds him” during the holidays.
“I was an M60 gunner, all the medics were killed, I picked up an aid bag and became a medic to me a lot of the trauma comes from that... and those are struggles that many, many veterans deal with every day of their life,” he said.
Weston said he wants his fellow veterans to take dealing with post-traumatic stress seriously and get help.
According to the Department of Veteran Affairs, there were more than 6,000 suicides by veterans in 2021, and in Florida, that number was at 546.
For Weston, he said he’ll continue healing by spreading Christmas cheer.
“There is no room for hate out here, there is no room for anger out here. This is room for children to come out and enjoy the day,” said Weston.
Santa’s Wonderland Village is located at 1500 E. Plant Street near S.R. 429 in Winter Garden. Admission and parking are both free. This holiday experience is only open for nine evenings, having opened on Friday, Dec.8th, and ending on Saturday, Dec. 23.
For more information regarding Santa’s Wonderland Village, click here.
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