Charles E. Sexton Memorial Park — Attraction in Town of Webster

Beautiful weather helped make the evening peaceful and relaxing. I have attended this event the past 4 years and it has grown immensely in that time. Growth is good but presents the event organizers with some challenges, including: Parking is overflowing, there are no where near enough food trucks/ providers, and each year patrons receive less and less with ticket. General admission used to come with a logo bag, 2 sets of inspiational/conversation cards, a mandala-printed blanket, and lantern kit. Now there is no blanket (except in VIP bags), and the tote bags were just plain. The drawstring bags had a logo, but we were not able to see the bag choices from where we checked in (someone came to us in line because the line was so long). So we received tote bags that I will donate. The park itself is lovely, but the ground is very uneven. I saw older people and those with disabilities struggling to walk to the food area, bathrooms, and to the pond area where we put our lanterns in the water. It might be helpful to have workers offer to collect the lanterns and put them in the water for those who have a hard time walking on uneven terrain. This year, the sound was not very loud, and we were sitting near the speaker. I am not sure how much others who had to sit farther away could hear. The organizers definitely have some bumps to smooth out...

Really neat little park! Our kids come here all the time and had told us about what they call "Pokemon Park", and it's a nice place. We grabbed the pavilion right near the parking area (free!) and it was perfect for our needs. Stuff for everyone to do. We had groups walking around the ponds just for fun, and to play Pokemon, we had people playing frisbee golf on their nice course. we had some sitting on benches alongside the water and just people-watching, etc. There are very nice charcoal grills there to use, also, but we just brought our portable ones. The restrooms nearby are a great touch, too. All along the path around the ponds are little workout stations, too, which I thought was a really cool feature for people.

We even saw a wedding group taking pics down the other end of the pond Saturday afternoon. Only downside I would say is the road noise, being so close to 104, it's pretty constant, but overall, a really nice place to take a walk and have a little get-together, and...

This place is overrun by Canada Geese. Droppings all over the lawns and one paved trail. I live in senior housing behind the ponds. The geese invade our grounds daily. Our maintenance staff do not keep our grounds clean. I keep our sidewalks clean with a bucket of soapy water and broom. The ponds had a swimming beach until 2012. Then someone drowned, and no more swimming. Then the geese came. The park staff stopped treating the water. There is algae every year until autumn. Nothing like it used to be. Hard to fish through the algae. There are other places better. The geese got sick last year and dead were everywhere. Game wardens had to dispose of carcasses....