Holiday Light Shows

Holiday Light Shows
Your guide to the best local light shows...

By Josh Freeman
Sleep deprivation is my friend
ATLANTA
November 20, 1998

It's the holidays again, and that means holiday light displays. Atlanta has several prominent displays spread all over town. Two of the most prominent are Lake Lanier Islands' Magical Nights of Lights, and Stone Mountain Parks Annual display.

Lake Lanier Island's annual display is in its sixth season. Touted as the word's largest animated holiday display, it is improved this year with the addition of Storybook Lane, which is filled with scenes from such classic fairytales as Cinderella, Peter Pan, and the Wizard of Oz. The night ends with Santa's Workshop, a gift shop, and a bonfire with marshmallow roast. Lake Lanier Islands is located about 45 minutes north of Atlanta, off of I-985. The cost is $25.00 for car, and begins tonight. For more information, call (770) 932-7200.

Stone Mountain park is also holding their annual light show. To get to Stone Mountain, take Ponce de Leon away from campus. Take 78 away from Atlanta. Stone Mountain Park is about five miles outside of the perimeter. The road around the mountain is packed with holiday displays, including a live nativity scene, several local choirs, and even Santa Claus.

The high point of the light display is Snowflake Lane, which is on the road behind the Antebellum plantation. This stretch of road is heavily decorated with lights hanging from the trees above. Stone Mountain Park is also holding a special holiday themed laser show. The laser show starts at 6:05 p.m, 7:05 p.m, and 8: 05 p.m. The show is free, but $6.00 per vehicle parking chargefor vehicles without an annual permit.

For those venturing slightly north north of Atlanta, The Biltmore House, located in Asheville, North Carolina, holds a very elegant Christmas display. Built for George Vanderbilt, the Biltmore House is a 250 room estate. Each year the estate decorates the house in full Victorian glory, including live musicians. There are also evening candlelight tours. For guests of legal drinking age, there is also a wine tasting at the winery on the estate. Don't forget to visit the dairy, which makes delicious ice cream.

The Biltmore House charges $31.95 for admission, and reservations are highly recommended. Christmas is their busiest time Call (800) 624-1575 for more information and to order tickets.

One cannot overlook the artform that is the home made display. Many neighborhoods in Atlanta go all out for the holidays. Drive to just about any suburb, and one is guaranteed to see everything from elegant displays of luminaries, to the height of tacky displays, complete with runways for the reindeer and nativity scenes with the Angel of the Lord dressed as Elvis.

Good places to look for these more home grown displays are in Buckhead and Dunwoody for the more elegant displays,and in some of the outer suburbs for the more "colorful" displays. One display off of Lawrenceville Highway, which is in North Atlanta, had more lightbulbs in the yard than blades of grass. Quite possibly, there were lights on anything that didn't fight back.

Copyright © 1998 by Gregory S. Scherrer, Editor and by the Student Publications Board

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