Light Bright

During the next month, holiday lights will be displayed throughout the Washington area in virtually every format imaginable. Want candlelight tours? Got 'em. Lights on boats? Check. Tree lightings? Uh-huh.

But for the lazier among us, the region's drive-through displays are one of the best ways to coast through a winter wonderland without having to leave a warm car. I highly recommend the Gaithersburg Winter Lights display at Seneca Creek State Park. It's one of the biggest in the region with 380 illuminated scenes, 65 of which are animated. There's always the risk of traffic congestion at these things, but in my experience, the people in Gaithersburg keep the cars moving.

Unfortunately, one of the region's most celebrated lighting displays, Bull Run Regional Park's "Miracle of Lights," will not return this year. Representatives for Events USA, the company that produced the show, told park authorities they could not mount the annual display for a "variety of business reasons," according to Mark Riddell, a spokesman for the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. One of those reasons: rising gas prices. With only a few weeks until the season began, the Park Authority could not find a replacement company. Thus, Bull Run's festival went on hiatus.

If you can't make it to one of the public displays that are up and running, try basking in the holiday glow in your own neighborhood. So far, my fellow community members still haven't cleared away the cobwebs and jack-o'-lanterns from Halloween. But maybe your streets shine brighter than mine. Know of a neighborhood worthy of a drive-by? Post a comment and let us know.

--Julia

By Julia Beizer |  November 28, 2005; 3:25 PM ET Misc.
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Posted by: Don't forget us over in Annapolis... | December 1, 2005 2:35 PM

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