LET IT GLOW
Bright displays light up Marin and beyond
Nothing can fill you with the holiday spirit like seeing lights, lots and lots of lights, blazing and twinkling in the darkness of winter nights.
That's the magic of so many festive lights displays around the Bay Area. Some are presented by parks, gardens, churches and historic sites. Others are organized by groups of neighbors and creative homeowners, who turn their streets and their front yards into winter wonderlands with theme-park level, lightand-music-filled extravaganzas.
Here is a selection of some of the best holiday displays. Unless otherwise specified, all events are free.
Tam Valley fun
Welcome back, the Tam Valley MegaTree. It's hard to miss the nearly 30 feet tall pole-andlights tree of more than 3,000 individually controlled LED lights that are computer programmed to perform dozens of different patterns and synchronized to holiday music on 96.1 FM. The show features eight different songs and changes nightly. And while you're there, keep your eyes peeled for Santa Claus in an upstairs window.
“When it started, it was about 10 feet — a little baby tree by comparison,” Jeff Brown, who puts up the tree in his front yard, told the IJ in 2019. “Now, it's huge. It's something that everyone enjoys. I like giving back and in the Tam Valley, there is that amazing sense of community.”
Details: Take a look from 5 to 10 p.m. daily through New
Year's Day at 340 Jean St. in Tam Valley. For more information, go to facebook.com/tamvalleymegatree.
Parade of lights
Santa Claus forgoes his flying sleigh for a floating one at the annual San Rafael Lighted Boat Parade. Get in the holiday spirit and watch dozens of festively decorated boats, kayaks and yachts parade down the San Rafael Canal. Some recommended places to watch the family-friendly festivities include the back of the Montecito Plaza Shopping Center, Point San Pedro Road and Third Street, around the San Rafael Yacht Club and Pickleweed
Park and Pickleweed Community Center at 50 Canal St. in San Rafael.
Details: It's at 6 p.m. Dec. 16 at the San Rafael Canal. For more information, go to www. facebook.com/SanRafaelLightedBoatParade.
Rooms of fun
Come be dazzled by more than 125,000 sparkling lights across seven curated rooms at the Lights at Northgate Mall, a new indoor holiday lights experience put together by San Francisco Holiday Lighting, a full-service holiday lighting and décor installation company. From twinkling fairy lights to stunning light installations,
each room boasts a unique experience and theme, such as the interactive Kid Zone with LED dance floor and neon chalk art wall, the Tropical Room with lighted palm trees and surfboards and driftwood wreaths, and the Arctic Room with glistening snowflakes and drop lights.
Details: Come by through Dec. 30; noon to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, with entry times by the hour starting at noon and the last entry time is 7 p.m. at the Northgate Mall at 5800 Northgate Drive in San Rafael. It's closed on Christmas Day. Admission is $12 for kids and $22 for adults;