By Stephen Day
‘Tis the season to be merry and bright! What better way to do that than to take in all the festive lights and decorations throughout Riverside.
For the merriest adventure, grab your friends, jump in your car and check out some of the neighborhood displays. Some of your neighbors go all out for the season, and we found a few of the best ones to help you plan your night.
Click on the Christmas tunes, and take a drive out to the Mission Grove neighborhood to 8381 Deercreek Dr. for the Xtreme Light Wizards holiday display.
Their light show is synced to music broadcasted on 89.7 FM. You can even vote for which songs you want to hear on their website. Visit between 5 p.m. and midnight.
Next we are headed back toward downtown Riverside to 134 Gracefield Way. This display features characters, a nativity scene and more than 20,000 Christmas lights.
You can walk through more than 320 wood displays, and children can place their names in Santa’s box so it can be added to next year’s display. There are more than 100 scrolls with over 1,200 names currently displayed. Visit between 5 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Right around the corner at 118 Clearwood Ave., you’ll find another display that comes with music, found on 93.3 FM. You’ll hear classics like Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and 20 other songs on rotation. Visit between 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Lastly we’ll cruise over to 2993 Gertrude St. and see an amazing display of more than 60,000 lights. The music you’ll hear is based around the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Visit between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.
After you’re done with the spectacle of Christmas your neighbors have created, head over to Riverside’s Christmas pride and joy, the Mission Inn, where you will find the nation’s largest holiday light display.
Alongside the Mission Inn is the Festival of Lights where you can wander through vendors and shops that are only around for the Christmas season.
The lights stay on until 10 p.m. each night until Jan. 6, 2023, but the festival ends on Dec. 31.