Hello there 👋🏻 and Greetings From... Springfield, MA and Bright Nights at Forest Park! If you're new to this blog (Mac Claire), let me introduce myself real quick; I'm Claire, an entertainment and lifestyle writer who puts the M, A & C in Music, Arts & Culture! Every Thursday I post featured articles about a trip to an exhibition, festival, or show, a visit to the real-life scene where a famous movie was filmed, or something completely random like favorite holiday/seasonal Music, Arts & Culture items.
Today's article is a Greetings From... feature in honor of National Christmas Lights Day, which was this past Tuesday, December 1st! Bright Nights is New England's largest drive-through holiday lights display and it's been going on since 1995. It takes place in Springfield, Massachusetts' Forest Park. As a native New-Englander, I've gone to this event a few times in the past several years and will be showing some of the most beautiful parts of the display and talking about the other features Bright Nights offers (even if they won't be able to do all of them this year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic).
For those not familiar with the area, Springfield is the third-largest city in Massachusetts and it's situated in the southwest portion of the state (about an hour and a half from Boston). Forest Park in Springfield is known for being one of the country's largest urban, municipal parks according to Wikipedia- the perfect place for Bright Nights!
Running from November 25th to January 6th, the dazzling, expansive, drive-through light display experience is complete with Christmas music from WELF 100.7 radio. In years past, visitors could stop at designated areas throughout the drive for refreshments, rides, pictures, and special events like Supper with Santa, Gingerbread House Decorating, and Choral Concerts, as well as Horse-Drawn Wagon and Carriage Rides. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic though, these Bright Nights features have been canceled for the 2020 season. Hopefully these things will all be back next year though!
So, let's get to the part I'm sure you're all waiting for: the lights! Below is a series of photos I've taken from Bright Nights past to show you what the magic looks like. Check it out!
I'll be linking the Bright Nights website below so if you're interested in attending this wonderful event this year, be sure to check out all of the details and safety protocols beforehand. I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about this festive New England tradition!
Next Thursday's featured article is Mac Christmas Favorites, which I'm super excited about! I hope you'll come back to read it. In the meantime, if you enjoyed this article feel free to give it a heart and a share. For more Mac Claire content, find us on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and Spotify. To make sure you never miss an article, hit the "subscribe" button on the website to get our weekly email!
Thanks for reading and I'll talk to you soon! Stay festive! 🎄
~Claire
Links:
Bright Nights at Forest Park Website: https://www.brightnights.org
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