LITTLE ROCK — Christmas qualifies as the most luminous of holidays.
For faithful Christians, the glow goes back two millennia to the brilliant Star of Bethlehem, which guided the Wise Men to the manger of the baby Jesus.
For all Americans regardless of our beliefs, the season of myriad lights is upon us. Many public displays are already twinkling across Arkansas, while others are due to be illuminated this weekend or next.
The Christmas lights are often part of festive fun that also may include parades, concerts, seasonal food and beverages, visits from Santa Claus and horsedrawn carriage rides. Extended shopping hours in malls and downtown stores serve as a reminder of the season's importance to the economy.
As more and more communities promote their seasonal lighting, the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism's 2008 Arkansas Trail of Holiday Lights brochure features layouts in 64 locations, from the Ozarks to the Delta. It is further noted that "these listings are only highlights, not a complete description of lighting displays."
The brochure is available free by calling the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, (800) 628-8725. It also can be downloaded from the Web site www.arkansas.com.
Now it's time to flip the switch for a sampler of Christmas light extravaganzas around the state, presented in alphabetical order. There's no charge to view the lights, unless noted.
ALTUS
Arkansas wine country takes on added sparkle as Altus' city park and downtown are festooned through Jan. 1 with lots of lights, most strikingly viewed from atop St. Mary's Mountain. At next-door Wiederkehr Village, the season gets a Swiss touch with 50,000 lights decorating the state's oldest winery.
Call (479) 468-4191. For Wiederkehr Village, call (479) 468-9463 or visit www.wiederkehrwines. com.
ARKADELPHIA
Iron Mountain Lodge & Marina on DeGray Lake north of Arkadelphia comes aglow for the 11th year. More than 1.5 million lights are decorating the lake and marina through Dec. 31. Santa Claus arrives at the resort by boat at 6 p.m. today. Visitors to the lighting displays are encouraged to contribute to the Make a Wish Foundation.
Call (870) 246-4310 or visit www.iron-mountain.com.
ASHDOWN
The folks who put together the Land o' Lights Festival in Ashdown measure their layout by cord length rather than number of light bulbs. They calculate that some 20 miles of white lights are strung on the century-old Little River County Courthouse and its grounds through Jan. 1.
Call (870) 898-2758 or visit www.littlerivercounty.org.
BLYTHEVILLE
Billed as "the largest lighting display in the Mid-South," the 13th annual Lights of the Delta aggregates 6 million illuminated bulbs and 36 motion displays on its 40-acre drive-through route at the Arkansas Aeroplex north of Blytheville. Admission to the display through Dec. 27 is $10 per vehicle carrying up to 12 passengers; the price on Tuesdays is only $5. Another 1 million lights are strung in downtown Blytheville, where the 53rd annual Christmas parade steps off Dec. 5 at 6:30 p.m.
Call (870) 762-9788 or visit www.lightsofthe delta.com.
EL DORADO
El Dorado's Festival of Lights, around the Union County Courthouse, extends through Jan. 3. The annual Christmas parade, advertised as the largest in south Arkansas, starts at 4 p.m. Dec. 6. This year's theme is Sounds of the Season. Santa Claus is expected to show up at the courthouse with cookies from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 6.
Call (870) 863-6113 or visit www.goeldorado. com.
EUREKA SPRINGS
The New Great Passion Play's Christmas Lights Extravaganza, open daily at 5 p.m. until Dec. 31, is a mile-long drive-through setup that recounts the birth of Christ with more than 100 illuminated figures. Elsewhere in Eureka Springs, seasonal lighting decorates an array of the tourist town's Victorian-era buildings. The annual Eureka Springs Christmas Parade is scheduled for 6 p.m. Dec. 5.
Call (866) 947-4387 or visit www.eurekasprings.org.
FAYETTEVILLE
Nearly a half-million twinkling bulbs get turned on nightly in and around Fayetteville's historic downtown square through Dec. 31 in the yearly Lights of the Ozarks display. Choirs from local schools, churches and other ensembles will carol on the square Tuesday and Thursday, as well as Dec. 8, Dec. 11 and Dec. 12.
Call (800) 766-4626 or visit www.thelightsoftheozarks.org.
HOT SPRINGS
While plenty of Christmas lights brighten downtown Hot Springs, more elaborate illuminations can be seen by touring the 15-acre Holiday Lights Display at Garvan Woodland Gardens on the southern fringe of the Spa City. The focus of the downtown lighting, through Jan. 1, is the lawn of the Arlington Hotel. Garvan's Lights on the Landscape layout, open until Dec. 31 (closed Dec. 25), is enhanced by hot chocolate and spiced cider, along with marshmallows to roast at the pavilion. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for youngsters 6-12, children 5 and under free.
Call (800) 772-2489 or visit www.hotsprings.org. For Garvan Woodland Gardens, call (501) 262-9300 or visit www.garvangardens.org.
LITTLE ROCK
Dec. 6 brings the annual State Capitol Lighting Ceremony beginning around 6 p.m. Secretary of State Charlie Daniels is set to preside at the event, which also features music, fireworks and activities for youngsters. The lighting of the Capitol follows the Big Jingle Jubilee Holiday Parade, which starts at 3:30 p.m. Dec. 6 in downtown Little Rock, with reality series Project Runway finalist Korto Momolu tapped as grand marshal. The Capitol will stay lighted nightly until the end of December.
Call (501) 376-4781 or visit www.littlerock.com.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK
The fifth annual Holiday Lights in Burns Park, a one-mile drive-through circuit, opens Monday and continues from 6 to 10 p.m. each evening through Dec. 30 (closed Dec. 25). Admission is $5 per car. The half-mile Dashin' Thru the Lights fun run and walk in Burns Park. starts at 5 p.m. Dec. 13. The North Little Rock Christmas Parade proceeds along Main Street beginning at 2 p.m. Dec. 7, with the theme "Peace on Earth."
Call (501) 753-7307 or visit www.northlittlerock.travel.
PINE BLUFF
Like Blytheville's Lights of the Delta, Pine Bluff's Enchanted Land of Lights & Legends layout touts its stupendous size, claiming to be "the state's largest holiday light display." This year's version features more than 140 displays, many of them animated, on a 1.2-mile route through Regional Park until Dec. 31. Donations are welcome.
Call (800) 536-7660 or visit www.pineblufffestival.org.
SEARCY
Holiday of Lights brightens Searcy's White County Courthouse and city parks starting this evening and continuing until Jan. 1. The city's Holiday of Lights Christmas Parade steps off at 6 p.m. on Dec. 6 from Spring Park and ends in Berryhill Park, site of many lighted displays and figures.
Call (501) 268-2483 or visit www.searcy.com.
SHERWOOD
The eighth annual Enchanted Forest and Holiday Trail of Lights in Sherwood Forest charges no admission, but donations are welcome. The tree-lined trail, which opens Monday and is lighted through Dec. 30 from 6 to 9:30 p.m., includes more than 60 displays. Some are themed to Robin Hood and forest animals. Sherwood's Christmas Parade down Kiehl Avenue starts at 2 p.m. Dec. 7.
Call (501) 835-8909 or visit www.ci.sherwood.ar.us/.
WASHINGTON
Historic Washington State Park stages its popular Christmas and Candlelight program on two Saturdays, Dec. 6 and Dec. 13. The light comes principally from 3,000 luminarias - candles lighting pathways - rather than electric bulbs. Guides in pioneer-era attire will be stationed in the site's buildings, while minstrels stroll the grounds.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children, with a $1 discount for advance purchase.
Call (870) 983-2660 or visit www.historicwashingtonstatepark.com.
WEST MEMPHIS
Weekend carriage rides through display-lighted Worthington Park are a highlight of Christmas festivities in West Memphis. The park and other parts of the Mississippi River city are lighted nightly until Dec. 31.
The carriage rides, for which reservations are advised, take place Fridays and Saturdays through Dec. 20. Carriages hold up to six riders, for a flat cost of $35.
West Memphis' 57th yearly Christmas parade heads down Missouri and Broadway streets at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Call (870) 514-6340 for information or carriage-ride reservations, or visit www.westmemphis.org.
Weekend, Pages 62, 63 on 11/28/2008