Merry & bright: UCF holiday glow
Light Up UCF, which opens this weekend, is bigger than ever.
The lawn outside CFE Arena at University of Central Florida has warped into a spectacle of lights, marking the beginning of holiday festivities at the campus with the opening of its annual Light Up UCF event this weekend.
More than 200,000 lights — the most ever featured — and the occasional blast of “snow” set the scene for holiday activities including ice skating, rides, visits with Santa and entertainment by local performers.
“We started off as just a rink and a small light show, and we’ve turned it into a winter wonderland,” said Julian Bowman, director of marketing for the CFE Arena.
On most weekends, attendees can also bring chairs and a blanket for outdoor holiday movie showings.
On Saturday, the event closed early as the campus buzz was dominated by football. UCF took on Cincinnati on Saturday night, and a live broadcast of ESPN’s “College GameDay” from campus was the focus of the morning. But a few fans trickled into the holiday event before game time.
Eight-year-old Julia Barry danced with her friend on the community stage outside CFE Arena that overlooks the Light Up Express, a set of train tracks that circle a miniature Christmas tree field. Her parents, Rich and Sarah Barry, of Windermere, said they were tailgating for the game Saturday morning.
“We just wandered over and it was open already,” Sarah Barry said.
The family has been to Light Up UCF in previous years, mainly for Julia to enjoy the festivities. Rich Barry said he thought Julia’s favorite activity would be the Ice Slide, where kids on plastic sleds can glide down a hill of hardpacked ice, “because, of course, they never get to do that,” he said.
But no— she said she most enjoyed showing off her moves on stage.
Winston Webster, of Oviedo, who was also tailgating with friends Saturday morning, said he saw the iceskating rink while searching for a place to eat lunch, “and thought we’d pick up the skates, hit the blades and just get out there and shred some ice” before they hoped to score tickets for the game, he said
Now in its 11th year at UCF, Bowman credits Light Up UCF’s popularity to its affordability. Admission is free, and tickets for activities start at $4.25.
“You can do everything for under $20, or you can come and walk around for no charge at all,” Bowman said.
Along with more lights, event coordinators this year added a second holiday market night, where local vendors and artisans sell crafts and other products. Last year, the market drew about 5,000 customers, Bowman said.
“Historically, those night have been our busiest nights,” Bowman said.
“We’re expecting good crowds at both events because the community has supported it.”