For 74 years the neighborhood of Winterhaven has put on a show at Christmastime. It’s called the Festival of Lights and, as I understand it, holiday decorations of some kind are required of every homeowner. Well, I thought, holiday lights are always amazing, but I wonder what it looks like during daylight hours when the lights are off. And, I asked myself, does every home really have decorations? A couple of days ago I found out.
Drive into Winterhaven during daylight
The streets into Winterhaven are blocked off each evening at 6 p.m. to allow walkers to ramble around in safety while viewing all the decorations and lights. Hay rides, party bikes and the Winterhaven trolley are available for those who do not want to walk. No drive-through nights at all this year. During the day, however, I drove right into the community on Kleindale, parking then moving along wherever I saw something interesting.
Sleighs in the sun shine
Sleighs and snowmen were everywhere! Even the Grinch with his Mean 1 sleigh had a place in a front yard– see more of him below.
There were decorations that have been being put on display for decades, as well as some brand new. The clear glass lights making up the snowmen, below left, are vintage and light up at night. And, on the right, inflatable reindeer and Elves, to go along with a sleigh. Actually, that looks like the most efficient yard display in Winterhaven — reindeer, tree, santa, sleigh, elves and snowman in an all-in-one inflatable. At the end of the Festival, pull one plug and it all collapses. Then fold it up and stick it in the garage til next year.
See the Award Winners
Winterhaven hands out awards to their residents. The home at the top of this post won “Best Rooftop” for its life-size Santa and reindeer. The plane in someone’s front yard won “Best Dressed Vehicle”, a prize most commonly won by a front yard sleigh. Then there were gnomes–funny and not quite traditional. Santa has elves–see photo above–not gnomes. No award for them! Just laughs!
Ta-da!!! Now for the prizewinner for Most Creative Display at the 2023 Festival of Lights. It is, on the left side of a front yard, 2 parts Grinch and Whoville…
And, on the right side of the same front yard, one part Barbie!!
To answer the question as to whether “every home”was decorated: all of them I saw were, including one that had Hanukkah decorations, and another that was minimalist with a few plastic candy canes lined up along the sidewalk. Overall, it was fun so maybe next year I will go at night to actually see the lights.
The Festival of Lights is free but the Winterhaven community asks everyone who comes to see it to bring non-perishable food for the Southern Arizona Food Bank.
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