Every holiday season, families flock to Main Street in Chickasha, Oklahoma, for its parade and dazzling light show. But it’s not just the brightly lit Christmas tree catching their attention — a nearly 50-foot-tall leg lamp is stealing the spotlight.

The giant statue, which officially reopened as a permanent attraction in November 2022, pays homage to the 1983 Christmas classic “A Christmas Story.” It’s inspired by one of the film’s iconic scenes, where Ralphie’s dad Mr. Parker gets the leg lamp as a “major award” for winning a newspaper crossword puzzle contest.

“When he pulled the leg lamp out of the box, I could not get that out of my mind. I mean, that was the funniest thing I’ve ever seen,” Tim Elliot, CEO of Standley Systems, a family-owned business technology company based in Chickasha, told “CBS Mornings.”

A few years ago, that scene made a lightbulb go off in Elliot’s head – put a giant leg lamp front and center on Main Street. 

The Chickasha Festival of Light with its 3.5 million twinkle lights and 170-foot-tall Christmas tree has frequently been named one of the best light shows in the country, bringing more than 250,000 visitors each year. But Elliot wanted to add something special that would draw people to Chickasha year-round. So, he pitched the quirky idea at a meeting for economic development.

“I pulled the leg lamp out and set it on the conference table, and I said, ‘How about a 100-foot leg lamp at the end of Main Street?’”

Attendees laughed and shrugged off the idea, suggesting it was never going to happen. But Elliot was determined. He raised more than $1 million, and in 2021, the statue went up.

But like the movie, the lamp kicked off controversy. 

Jim Cowan, Chickasha economic development director and president of the Chickasha Chamber of Commerce, said attorneys representing Warner Brothers sent a letter to the Chickasha Community Foundation that essentially read, “cease and desist, destroy it, tear it down.”

“We were very determined. We weren’t going to let that happen. That if we had to go and battle in the courts we would because we felt like we did things the right way,” Cowan said.

The group explained to Warner Brothers that they were not profiting off the lamp because they don’t charge admission, and a neighboring gift shop sells licensed products from the film. Elliot says the group hasn’t heard from the entertainment company in about a year and a half.

That’s good news for visitors – like John Prock from Washington, D.C., who drove from his parents’ house in Oklahoma to visit the giant leg lamp.

“My parents mentioned it, so I came down to visit them, and they said, ‘Well, while you’re here, let’s go see the leg lamp.’ So we literally hopped in the car, drove almost three hours to get here, and here we are,” Prock said.

The lamp has become a beacon for tourists and businesses. 

“Tourism is at an all time high and a lot of that can be traced one way or another to a leg lamp,” Cowan said.

Chet Hitt grew up just 20 miles away before moving out west and becoming a successful business developer. Now, he’s back home – and has big plans, investing millions in the town.He has plans to develop a business park and renovate downtown, as more and more people come to town to see the lamp. 

“You drive down this little town and you see kids playing and the community behind things and the support. It just really they buy into what’s here,” Hitt said, adding that he hopes to see continued growth in the town over the next decade.

The energy was off the charts in the Frost Bank Center even before opening tip for what many hoop fans are hoping is the next great NBA rivalry. Both the Spurs and Thunder the traded blows on the offensive and defensive end in an exhilarating display of basketball that included 12 lead changes and 11 ties. Oklahoma City took a slim 60-58 lead into the locker room at halftime. The second half played out in much the same fashion with extremely high-level basketball and neither team able to pull away, though San Antonio were the ones who took a 5 point lead heading into the 4th quarter. That chink in the Thunder armor though was enough to blow the game wide open to begin the final frame for the Spurs. They spent the vast majority of the 4th quarter just making life hell for the Thunder, who waved the white flag and pulled their starters with 3 minutes left in the game.

Led by huge performances from Stephon Castle, Harrison Barnes and a particularly special performance by Keldon Johnson off the bench, the win marks their second straight win over the defending champions and their 7th win in a row, the longest for the club since 2019. Tonight’s win sets the table for Thursday’s Christmas Day match-up in Oklahoma City pretty nicely, sending a message to anyone still doubting whether or not the Silver and Black are for real.

The rematch on Christmas Day starts at 1:30 CT on ABC and ESPN.

Christmas is nearly here, but are you done with Christmas shopping? You still have a few days left, and we know that so many people face the annual challenge of what to buy someone who has everything, or is hard to buy for.

News 9 spoke to Von Maur representative Mathew Burniga to learn how to wrap up your Christmas shopping.