El Paso to honor health care workers with A Night of Hope event at Ascarate Park

El Paso health care workers will be honored during a drive-thru event at Ascarate Park.

The event, A Night of Hope, will be held at 5:30 p.m., Dec. 12, to honor health care workers for their sacrifices and dedication to the community as the number of area COVID-19 cases remain high, El Paso County officials said.

“My primary objective in issuing all of the County's Stay Home, Work Safe Orders has been to slow the spread of COVID-19, ease the burden on our hospitals, funeral homes, and on our frontlines heroes," El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego said in a statement. "A Night of Hope is a small tribute to all of our hospital CEO's, doctors, nurses, first responders and all of our other unsung heroes who have been working tirelessly for months to help save as many lives as possible.”

He continued: “Their dedication, commitment and courage deserve our deepest gratitude. Rest assured that I will continue to be an ambassador for all of our heroes.”

The event will include an LED wall, which will display photos residents submit with inspirational music playing as visitors enter Lights on the Lake, El Paso County Parks & Recreation officials said.

It also will have sky beam lights honoring health care workers, along with a color light show with holiday music that will be playing as visitors pass through the south end of the park, officials said.

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Officials ask the public to show their support for El Paso health care workers by decorating their vehicles with lights.

They also ask that community members submit photos of any health care workers they want to honor. The photos should be sent in jpeg format to parksinfo@epcounty.com, with a full name and a message, if they wish to include one.

The deadline to submit photos is Sunday.

The event will be a drive-thru only event due to COVID-19 restrictions; visitors must remain in their vehicles.

The event will kick off the annual Lights on the Lake for the holiday season at Ascarate Park. Lights on the Lake will run from Dec. 12 to Jan. 6. The lights will be displayed daily from 5 to 9 p.m. 

There will be no fee to enter the park on weekends after 4:30 p.m., and the park will stay open until 10 p.m.

Aaron Martinez may be reached at 915-546-6249; aamartinez@elpasotimes.com; @AMartinezEPT on Twitter.