The famed “Festival of Lights” will wrap up another season Sunday evening in downtown Riverside, providing a final chance for residents and visitors to catch a glimpse until the next fest arrives toward the end of the year.
The current celebration began the weekend before Thanksgiving, a break from the traditional start on the day after the national holiday.
Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson explained the change was desirable so that downtown businesses could reap greater economic benefits from visitors’ spending.
This was the fest’s 31st season. Mission Inn Hotel & Spa owner Duane Roberts inaugurated the tradition in 1992 as a way to support the city and elevate the downtown area’s attractiveness.
“Every year, it attracts 500,000 visitors, all thrilled to watch the display come to life through the Holidays,” hotel officials said in a statement
Every fest gets underway with a switch-on ceremony, generally drawing around 50,000 attendees to the front of the Mission Inn. The events were rescinded in November 2020 and November 2021. The 2020 event was dropped because of the COVID lockdowns, and the City Council decided to forgo the 2021 switch-on as a precautionary measure. The ceremony got back on track in 2022.
The nightly fest has featured the century-old inn bathed in multi-colored hues, with hundreds of animated characters, including elves, toy soldiers, nutcrackers and angels, visible on banisters, balconies and ledges.
Towering Christmas trees, a horse carousel and wooden soldiers lined the way outside and into the hotel, where visitors also encountered a mistletoe measuring 12-by-8 feet.
There has been live musical entertainment weekly, photos with Santa Claus, as well as artisan booths and food vendors up and down the Main Street pedestrian mall. An ice skating rink was situated on the southeast side of the Mission Inn, immediately adjacent to the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art & Culture. The city also festooned light standards and other municipal property with displays and lights.
There was a Ferris wheel at the corner of Lemon Street and Mission Inn.
The council allocated $1 million for this year’s fest. Last year, it was $650,000 for the six-week event.
Most festivities ended last weekend, but the lights have stayed on and will remain lit through Sunday night.