The Mission Inn Hotel and Spa will commence its holiday celebrations with the 26th Annual Festival of Lights on November 23rd. The festival is a free, six-week long extravaganza featuring one of the nation’s largest display of holiday lights.
USA Today has titled this celebration the “Best Public Lights Display in the Nation,” which explains why this light festival attracts more than 500,000 visitors from all over the world each year.
The Festival of Lights will begin with the famous “Switch On” Ceremony, a spectacular event in which the castle-like Mission Inn Hotel is instantly illuminated with five million holiday lights and then proceeds with an impressive fireworks display.
Other festival highlights include 200 animated figures such as angels, elves, and Dickens carolers. You can also expect Santa Claus to make appearances, sneak a kiss under the world’s largest man-made mistletoe, horse-drawn carriage rides, elf tuck-ins, freshly fallen snow, elaborately decorated Christmas trees; and delectable holiday confections at the famous Casey’s Cupcakes.
There will also be new additions to this year’s celebration. For instance, look for the new “Candy Stroll.” This leisurely stroll will take you through the main walkway where you can find lots of candy decor, then you will pass under the Campanario with the world’s largest mistletoe, and finally, down the paths towards Main Street, which features brightly colored canopy lights, additional candy decor, window displays, and more!
Also new is the hotel’s elaborately decorated Christmas tree, which will be featured outside of the hotel along the Candy Stroll walkway; breakfast with Santa, which will feature a performance by the Riverside Ballet and story time with Santa; and the new official merchandise of Mission Inn Hotel and Spa Festival of Lights booth.
If you are seeking accommodations nearby the Festival of Lights ceremony, Ayres Hotel Corona East is within close proximity.