Lights: Twinkling wonderlands make holidays magical
Wandering under colorful lights illuminating the night never gets old for any age group. The Houston area has an abundance of holiday light festivals to enjoy. One of the more venerable examples, the Dickinson Festival of Lights, is celebrating it’s 22nd year. Ken Suderman, the festival’s president, has volunteered for 17 of those years.
“Last year we had about 42,000 people attend,” Suderman said. “We get a lot of locals, but we also get people who drive from several hours away to come to the festival. One thing about our festival is that it is free.”
Local light shows are getting bigger every year, as technology offers more ways to shine. Matt Thompson, vice president of events for the Sugar Land Skeeters, said the Sugar Land Holiday Lights now has animated light shows that run on the halfhour during the festival’s open hours.
“In 2018, the light show was on the diamond part of the baseball field, but this year it will extend all the way down the first and third base lines,” he said. “We will have 10 songs: two shows of five songs. Adding the light shows nearly doubled our festival’s lights. We now have three million lights.”
Additionally, several Houston neighborhoods are well-known for going all-out with holiday decor. Gloria Goodwin, homeowners association president at Prestonwood Forest, said most neighbors participate in their Nite of Lites that has been a tradition for more than 40 years.
“Some of our newer residents especially go all out with lights, and some even have sound effects,” she said.