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Dazzling holiday light displays in SoCal
We don’t have chestnuts roasting on an open fire or Jack Frost nipping at our noses in Southern California. But the holidays have arrived with light shows all over the place.
Our guide highlights the 30 best ones in SoCal. Some are casual: Drive through a neighborhood where every house is adorned in glamor. Some are more official: Pay to be dazzled by a city, zoo or community’s extravagant displays.
Volunteer light shows
Some of the most creative holiday displays adorn people’s houses in fancy neighborhoods. These all-volunteer efforts bring in thousands of visitors every year.
In Torrance last year, as part of the Seaside Holiday Lights show, I saw houses decked out in lights and decor representing California football teams and Disney characters. One house even had a machine on the lawn that spewed out fake snow, which was so cool!
Altadena’s Christmas Tree Lane starts its 103rd year of elaborate drive-by holiday decorations tonight. Nearly a mile of twinkling lights and dazzling decor is strung among 155 massive deodar cedar trees lining both sides of Santa Rosa Avenue. A group of volunteers spends 10 weekends manually hanging some 18,000 lights every year.
Light festivals and enchanted gardens
Neighborhood light displays aren’t the only way to ring in the holidays in SoCal.
Mission Inn Festival of Lights — the granddaddy of SoCal’s holiday light shows — in Riverside drapes a full city block with lights and moving figures. The tradition began 31 years ago and is now one of the largest public light displays in the country. It’s so popular that the inn opted to run it for an extra week this year!
There are more around, too: A cosmic light show meshing lights, projection and sound illuminates the garden walk at Astra Lumina, while a new hanging light installation under the oaks and a labyrinth of 3-D geometric sculptures transform Descanso Gardens into a luminous paradise.
Read our full list here: 30 dazzling holiday light displays that make SoCal shine.
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Have a great weekend, from the Essential California team
Elvia Limón, multiplatform editor
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
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