No doubt, energy bills have definitely gone up since the last year’s blazing Christmas spectacles. Nevertheless, 2016’s grand holiday lights are now on display and we are all invited to either purchase a ticket or to just drive by and take a look
Number One: Global Winter Wonderland
Any discussion about the Craziest Christmas Displays in the city of Sacramento should begin with the most lovely over-the-top exposition of lights currently occupying 17 acres of the Cal Expo Fairgrounds, www.globalwonderland.com. The Global Winter Wonderland in Cal Expo re-opens December 16 and will continue until January 8 2017. For $29, guests can visit the park’s many enchanting Christmas menageries like Santa’s Village, which is complete with Santa’s Workshop, the Elf Clubhouse – where the elves from the workshop spend their leisure hours, and the North Pole Post Office – where Santa receives his mail from the millions of hopeful children around the world. Following the winter theme, California kids may enjoy playing in the actual snow located in the Snow Land exhibit, the Land where penguins and polar bears are plentiful and are roaming free. Anyone hoping to receive some great toys on Christmas morning, might enjoy the enormous, luminescent figures featured in the Toys of Toy Land exhibit.
Number Two: Theater of Lights
The eighth Annual Theater of Lights in Old Sacramento, presented by the Department of Old Sacramento and the Downtown Sacramento Foundation, is a live-action presentation of the well-known Christmas poem, “A Visit from St. Nicolas’ also known as “Twas the Night Before Christmas.” There are numerous displays with talented award – nominated performers, plenty of Christmas lights and decorations, and with a tremendous sound system, which allows the audience to keep track of all the action. The display is said to be larger than life and growing larger every year, so that visitors may be glad that the live-action performers are not those kinds of wax or plastic animated robot – figures one finds at the theme parks, who roll about, loudly bellowing their various lines…
Number Three: 4821 F Parkway
Apparently, the ghosts of Christmas past have refused to rest and have visibly taken up residence at 4821 F Parkway. It is The Nightmare Before Christmas and there is seemingly no end to the various goings on. There are tombstones with carved out messages, striking fear in the passersby, skeleton reindeer wraiths delivering who knows what to millions of unsuspecting children. and Jack Skellington the Pumpkin King, who is striking a rather conspicuous pose.
Number 4: East Sacramento Fab 40’s
Sacramento residents often enjoy driving through this East Sacramento McMansion -hood known as the Fab 40’s, located on Folsom Boulevard between 38th and 46th streets, during the off-season. However, throughout the Christmas season there is actual traffic. Of course, this year again, there are several spectacular presentations of note, some of which are so busy that they resemble an extremely crowded Christmas lighting lawn party. Besides R2-D2 and Charlie Brown, it seems that Hello Kitty was invited to several of these Christmas lighting lawn parties. One such residence is so packed full of these Christmas party guests that one becomes glad that the gathering is outdoors.
Number 5: Dovewood Court Christmas Lights
It is probably the residential area displays that are most often described as insane or that are in the greatest danger of being interpreted as Christmas craziness. However, this is all forgiven at The Dovewood Court Christmas Lights, 9333 Dovewood Ct Orangevale, CA 95662, which has its own Facebook site, and where visitors are encouraged to bring canned food for their donation station ‘at the end of the cul de sac.’ Sight seers can bring along with them some cash as well as some non-perishable food items, which is all being donated in partnership with Food For Families.
The Christmas season officially kicked off in Sacramento on December 5th at the 85thAnnual Tree Lighting ceremony at the California’s State Capital with Governor Brown and the First Lady. It may be worth it to check out the enormous California State Christmas tree as well as the Hanukah Light Stand, which YELP followers have said ‘looks very nice.’
m.wilson is a freelance writer and resident of Sacramento. Author of The Fabulous Sutro.
https://parachute.mapquest.com/2016/12/15/5-of-the-craziest-christmas-displays-in-sacramento/