Christmas celebrations, festivals and holiday events transform much of the USA as the year draws to a close into wonderlands of light and music.
Towns and cities in every state witness the holiday season with giant Christmas trees, light displays, pageants and parades of horse-drawn carriages, Old World-style family marketplaces, Christmas-themed inflatables, live music performances and fireworks.
ARKANSAS
Annual Lights of the Ozarks Festival
Thanksgiving – New Year
Fayetteville, Arkansas
During the winter holiday season, Lights of the Ozarks turns downtown Fayetteville into a sparkling wonderland. The community gathers to celebrate the holiday with appearances by Santa. Horse-drawn carriage rides are available and holiday music fills the air.
Each year Fayetteville Parks and Recreation workers spend over 2000 hours decorating the downtown square with 450,000 lights. Old Main, a landmark on the University of Arkansas main campus, is also outlined in lights.
For more information visit: www.experiencefayetteville.com
DC
National Christmas Tree Lighting & Pageant of Peace
December
Washington DC
For 85 years, the American tradition of lighting a national Christmas Tree has continued, interrupted only briefly in its history during moments of great national travail.
The tree itself is a live 40-foot Colorado blue spruce transplanted from York, Pennsylvania to its present site on the Ellipse in 1978.
The Pageant of Peace includes live performances and the lighting of the National Christmas Tree. Each night during December, musical groups perform free concerts for the entertainment of visitors to the Ellipse.
For more information visit:
www.visitingdc.com/neighbor/national-christmas-tree-lighting.htm
DELAWARE
Christmas in Odessa
December
Odessa, Delaware
Created more than 44 years ago to raise money to fund college scholarships for local high school seniors, Christmas in Odessa is a self-guided walking tour of historic Odessa’s private homes and public buildings, many dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, decorated for the holidays.
In addition to the house tour there are many special events like the Christmas Craft & Antique Show Horse, carriage rides on Main Street, the Newark Fife and Drum Corp and Christmas concerts at Old St. Pauls Church.
For more information visit: http://christmasinodessa.com
IDAHOCoeur d'Alene Resort Holiday Light Show
November / December
Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
Featured on Good Morning America in 2007 as one of the nations best holiday light shows, the Holiday Light Show at the Coeur d'Alene Resort features over 225 holiday displays ringing the boardwalk plus a memorable "Journey to The North Pole" attraction to visit Santa himself!
More than a million lights sparkle across Lake Coeur d'Alene at the largest on-the-water resort holiday light show in America.
Cruise boats offer a close-up view of the animated light displays and holiday scenes
For more information visit: www.coeurdalene.org
ILLINOIS
Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony
November
Chicago, Illinois
On the last Friday of November, a tradition for almost 100 years, the official start of the holiday season is heralded at 5:00 pm when the switch is flipped and the lights begin to sparkle and shine in Daley Plaza.
Chicago's massive 90 foot tall holiday tree is comprised of more than 130 smaller Balsam Fir trees illuminated with thousands of lights and hundreds of ornaments.
For more information visit: www.cityofchicago.org/specialevents
KANSAS
Downtown Lawrence Old Fashioned Christmas Parade
December
Lawrence, Kansas
The Downtown Lawrence Old Fashioned Christmas Parade features exclusively horse-drawn carriages, wagons and coaches decorated for the season. More than 300 horses are expected to follow the route, which begins at Seventh and Massachusetts streets and continues along Massachusetts until the parade route intersects 12th Street.
For more than 15 years, the parade has featured a variety of horses and wagons, stagecoaches, carts and sleighs. Santa on his sleigh is the parade's grand finale.
For more information visit:
http://www.lawrencechristmasparade.org/
MARYLAND
Winterfest of Lights
November / December
Ocean City, Maryland
Now with more than 1,000,000 lights and hundreds of displays, the 1 1/2-month celebration draws thousands of visitors to Northside Park at 125th Street and bayside.
From mid-November until New Year's, visitors can see unique light setups befitting a seaside resort, with Surfing Santas, animated Sharks, Santa hooking a Marlin from a charter boat, jumping Marlin, and Santa playing softball.
At Northside Park, the centerpiece of the celebration, visitors are welcomed by a magnificent sand sculpture and the city's 60-foot Christmas tree.
For more information visit:www.ococean.com
OR ... TAKE A LOOK AT THE TOP EVENTS USA FEATURE PROFILE ABOUT THE WINTERFEST OF LIGHTS
Festival of Trees
November
Timonium, Maryland
The largest holiday-themed event in the Mid-Atlantic region, the Festival of Trees features more than 500 beautifully decorated trees, wreaths and gingerbread houses plus holiday crafts shopping at more than over 100 craft boutiques, hourly live entertainment and, of course, Santa!
The three day extravaganza takes place at the Maryland State Fairgrounds
For more information visit: http://festivaloftrees.kennedykrieger.org
A Monumental Occasion
December
Baltimore, Maryland
A tradition more than 36 years, Mount Vernon Place celebrates the holiday season and annual lighting of the Washington Monument with an evening of choir performances, strolling entertainment, and more.
A Monumental Occasion takes place Thursday, December 4 with pre-event festivities at 5:30p.m. in Mount Vernon. The ceremony begins at 6p.m. with the official lighting at approximately 6:50 p.m. The evening includes performances, strolling entertainment, refreshments, and the official lighting by the mayor. The event ends with a colorful fireworks finale choreographed to music.
For more information visit:
www.godowntownbaltimore.com
MINNESOTA
Holidazzle Parades
November / December
Minneapolis, Minnesota
The annual Macy’s Holidazzle Parade shows over one million brilliant lights as visitors watch their favorite storybook characters come to life. Lighted floats, musical groups and costumed characters all lit up parade down the Nicollet Mall at 6:30pm, even as the winter weather descends upon Minneapolis.
The parade is free to watch, and runs Thursday through Sunday during the holiday season.
For more information visit: www.macysholidazzle.com
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Candlelight Stroll
December
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
The quaint lanes of Strawbery Banke Museum, New Hampshire's oldest waterfront neighborhood, are aglow with hundreds of candles. The historic homes are festively decorated, and the alluring scents and sounds of the holiday season fill the air.
Through its restored houses, its featured exhibits, its historic landscapes and gardens, and its interpretive programs, Strawbery Banke tells the stories of the many generations who settled in the Portsmouth since the late 17th century.
Today, visitors travel from all over the state in December to experience American midwinter traditions past and present.
For more information visit: www.strawberybanke.org
OR ... TAKE A LOOK AT THE TOP EVENTS USA FEATURE PROFILE ABOUT THE CANDLELIGHT STROLL
OHIO
Legendary Christmas Lights at Clifton Mill
November / December / January
Clifton, Ohio
More than 3.5 million lights adorn the historic mill, river gorge, trees and bridges. Visitors from across the country come to see the animated miniature village with a train, riverboats, a mini-parade and more.
For more information visit: www.cliftonmill.com
OKLAHOMA
Festival of Light
November / December
Chickasha, Oklahoma
This holiday extravaganza draws more than 300,000 visitors from across the USA. A thousand local volunteers come together to create the over-3-million-lights spectacle in 43-acre Shannon Springs Park.
Carriage rides provide the best views. Other attractions include one of America’s largest Christmas trees, 100 Lakeside Displays, trees and walkways, the Crystal Bridge of 75,000 lights, holiday music, concessions, Santa, and shopping.
For more information visit: www.chickashafestivaloflight.com
Christmas Kingdom
December
Muskogee, Oklahoma
Held at The Castle of Muskogee from Thanksgiving to New Years Eve, the Castle’s Christmas Kingdom is a display of over 1000 of Christmas-themed inflatables ranging from 4ft to 24ft tall. Everyone from Santa to Rudolph to the Grinch are all presented in various scenes around the Christmas Kingdom.
Visitors can enjoy this free event as they drive through the property from the comfort of their own vehicles.
For more information visit: www.okcastle.com
PENNSYLVANIA
Christkindlmarkt
December
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Visitors and locals alike celebrate the holidays at this unique Old World-style family marketplace voted one of the top 100 events in North America by the American Bus Association.
Christkindlmarkt features an amazing array of exquisite gifts and fine arts and crafts, from jewelry to hand-made quilts and the perfect atmosphere in which to relax, enjoy a hot cocoa or apple strudel and listen to the musicians performing an assortment of holiday classics and original Christmas music.
St. Nicholas is on-hand for the children, who can also explore rides, ice carving demonstrations and other holiday-related activities in the charming historic district of Christmas city.
For more information visit: http://www.christmascity.org/
UTAH
Spanish Fork Festival of Lights
December
Spanish Fork, Utah
Beginning Thanksgiving evening and carrying through to New Year’s Day, this 16-year old tradition in Canyon View Park features displays which are animated and contain motion lights or moving parts. Visitors can see Santa waving, a pink tree, a sea serpent, geese, and more as they view the lights from the car or take a hayride through the park. Hayrides available for groups of 20 or more.
For more information visit:
www.spanishfork.org/newsevents/events/festivaloflights/
VERMONT
Wassail Weekend
December
Woodstock, Vermont
This festive annual holiday event is held the second weekend in December and features three days of holiday shows, beautiful music, a parade of riders, horses and carriages, a historic house tour, a medieval banquet, a 19th Century Christmas celebration at Billings Farm & Museum and many more activities throughout the village. Voted one of Vermont's 10 best winter events.
For more information visit: www.woodstockvt.com
VIRGINIA
Holiday Lights at the Beach
November / December
Virginia Beach, Virginia
The largest grand illumination display on the Atlantic seaboard, Holiday Lights at the Beach features animated nautical and holiday-themed light displays along the Virginia Beach boardwalk attracting over 100,000 visitors each year.
Features include 25 blocks of festive fish, jumping dolphins, and frolicking porpoises, sailboats gently rocking in the wind, and mermaids, surfing Santas, giant gift-wrapped packages, and a three-story Christmas tree.
For more information visit:
www.hamptonroadsvisitor.com/holidaylightsatthebeach.html
