What to Know
- The Festival of Lights at the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa was scheduled to end Jan. 6, but the free display will sparkle on Jan. 7 and 8
- The Holiday Light Festival Train Ride at Griffith Park Train Rides will chugga-chugga into two new dates: Jan. 7 and 8
- Multiple storms following Christmas 2022 prompted holiday event cancellations, changes, and delays
Weather imagery is a significant part of our merriest holiday festivities.
Twinkling snowflakes, icy towers, and sparkling scenes add a cold and colorful touch to Southern California's most Christmassy events, and we look forward to these brisk and beautiful details each year.
But when winter actually blows through town, and intense storms prompt closures of these limited-time experiences? True story: Our own personal twinkle can dim just a bit.
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That was the stormy scenario in the days after Christmas 2022, with more than one powerful front moving across the region. Many outdoor celebrations had to swiftly shutter in response, even as the organizers faced disappointed visitors and the inescapable fact that the limited-time events really only had a few more days to go.
In "light" of this development, two seasonal favorites made the decision to tack on two more twinkly dates to their seasonal schedules, all to give guests who might have missed out because of wet weather an early January treat.
Festival of Lights at the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside was set to close on Jan. 6, 2023, but it will keep the bulbs bright on both Jan. 7 and 8.
And we do mean "bright," for the castle-like destination is known for its over-the-top dazzle. Missions of lights, animatronic figures, bows, and baubles up the effervescent air.
The team behind the beloved Griffith Park Train Rides has also committed its popular Holiday Light Festival Train Ride to a slightly longer run, a response to the rainy days leading up to the new year.
Other spots, from LA Arboretum to Descanso Gardens, will still keep the incandescent shimmering through Jan. 8, as scheduled.
And up at SkyPark at Santa's Village?
It's still a ho, ho, ho kind of world through Jan. 8, with a holiday-tinged "Winter Wonderland" arriving in mid-January. Check for "inclement weather" closures — there's one happening through Jan. 5 — and do purchase your ticket in advance.
