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Saturday, July 31, 2010
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Area events light up holidays
Published November 26, 2009
A trip to the Galaxy of Lights at Huntsville Botanical Garden has fast become a tradition for many people in north Alabama.
“Galaxy of Lights is never the same two years in a row,” said Nicole Hogan, director of communications at Huntsville Botanical Garden. “We add new displays every year, and they are always arranged in a different way to keep the show new and exciting, yet you always get to see your old favorites as well.
“We have over 160 light displays with over 700 pieces in all. It takes over 7 miles of extension cords to keep Galaxy of Lights running and between 700 to 800 volunteers to make it run over the five-week holiday season.”
The Galaxy of Lights, located at 4747 Bob Wallace Ave., is open through Jan. 2 from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Families are encouraged to load up their vehicles and enjoy a drive through the animated spectacle. Admission is $15 per vehicle up to 10 people and $3 for each additional person.
Hogan said this season is the 14th year of the event. She said the mile-and-a-half long Galaxy of Lights features animated light displays with themes centered around nursery rhymes, a holiday village, dinosaurs, wild animals, a magical twinkling icicle forest, garden scenes and animated snowmen.
“The Botanical Garden is a nonprofit organization, and the Galaxy of Lights is our largest fundraiser of the year, making up approximately 20 percent of our operating budget,” Hogan said. “It is truly a labor of love for our employees and volunteers and has become a holiday tradition for families all over north Alabama.”
Noccalula Falls Park
In Gadsden, the beautiful Noccalula Falls Park is aglow during Christmas at the Falls.
Activities are scheduled today through Sunday, Dec. 3 through Dec. 6, and Dec. 10 through Dec. 30 (but closed on Christmas Eve).
Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for seniors 55 and older, and $3 for children ages 4 to 12.
Kathy Guest, of Noccalula Falls Park, said employees and their families enjoyed a preview night of the event Tuesday. The event features train rides, a visit from Santa Claus and holiday-themed activities for children.
“There are just lights everywhere,” Guest said. “We have a cookie stop where children can buy a cookie and decorate the cookie. Santa Claus is available for pictures. We have the old post office building fixed up where children can go in and write a letter to Santa. All the trees are lighted. It’s beautiful.”
The Alabama Tourism Department recommended a number of other holiday events around the state.
• ARAB: Christmas in the Park from Friday through Jan. 1. The 14th annual event in Marshall County offers a dazzling display of nearly two million holiday lights, transforming the park into a winter wonderland. Visitors also can enjoy holiday music and special decorations in the Historic Complex, which features an old church, a school and an operational gristmill.
• BIRMINGHAM: Zoolight Safari at the Birmingham Zoo from Dec. 4 to Dec. 30. Ride the Zoolight Express train while enjoying a half-million twinkling lights. The spirit is festive and the tradition comes complete with hot cocoa, a light show synchronized to favorite holiday tunes and appearances by Santa.
• DECATUR: Christmas Tour of Homes from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Dec. 12. Decatur’s historic districts are decorated with luminaries, greenery and thousands of lights. Several homes are open for tours. Refreshments are served and carriage rides are available
• FLORENCE: Open House and Festival of Lights on Dec. 4. Florence businesses and Wilson Park will be decorated in lights for Christmas. Visitors can shop while listening to music on the street corners and in the park. Carriage rides are available. • OPELIKA: Victorian Christmas from Dec. 9 to Dec. 13. Step back in time with a visit to an Old World Christmas wonderland in Opelika. On the Victorian Front Porch Christmas Tour, visitors will see more than 60 turn-of-the-century homes in all their lighted glory featuring life-sized Santas, angels, toy displays and carousel horses. Also enjoy live holiday entertainment.
• MONTGOMERY: Governor’s Mansion Candlelight Open House from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Dec. 7, 14 and 21. Governor and Mrs. Bob Riley will open the Governor’s Mansion for candlelight tours. The 1907 Colonial Revival mansion, located at 1142 South Perry St., will be aglow with lights. 1.800.
• MONTGOMERY: The Montgomery Zoo Christmas Light Festival from Friday to Dec. 31.Thousands of lights illuminate the pathways on a leisurely stroll through the Montgomery Zoo. Visitors can ride the train through the forested wonderland and see animals come alive in lighted displays.
• EUFAULA: Christmas Tour of Homes on Dec. 5. Visitors can stroll through downtown to see the antebellum homes aglow in holiday splendor.
• MOBILE: Bellingrath Gardens Magic Christmas in Lights from Friday to Dec. 31. Stroll through a wonderland of more than three million twinkling lights and 600 custom-designed holiday displays. Tour the historic Bellingrath Home decorated in holiday finery, enjoy nightly entertainment and visit with Santa.
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