Horses arrived 10 minutes into Imperial Point’s Winter in the Park festival, two proud Percheron mixes pulling a covered wagon, only without the cover. Christmas lights lined the ribs of each horse, glowing with color against the sudden dark.

A sight like this isn’t unusual — not in December — when each year the Fort Lauderdale neighborhood’s homeowners association takes over Dottie Mancini Park for a festival that brings a bit of coolness to a typically warm South Florida.

A few years ago the association almost always scheduled its winter festival in the morning hours, with real snow shipped in from Miami and piled into mounds throughout the park grounds. But now even the park has changed. Earlier this year, Imperial Point Park was renamed Dottie Mancini Park.

But the snow got too expensive, association board member Laura Clark said, and for two years now the event has been in the evening, without the large mounds of snow. Organizers were able to conjure up a snow machine, a black box sitting on tall, skinny legs and looking like a relative of “Wall-E” in the latest Disney movie.

“I love this,” said resident Chris Petrouske, shepherding his two sons, ages 5 and 3, toward boxes of hot popcorn. “It’s a family atmosphere. The kids all go to school together, and their friends are here.”

“This is about community,” Eleanor McCoy said. “You get to meet and greet neighbors, not just watch them drive by. When people know you, they want to take care of you.”