Riverside Festival Of Lights 2017: Famed Event Kicks Off Friday

RIVERSIDE, CA — The Inland Empire's signature holiday event -- the "Festival of Lights" -- will get underway Friday evening in downtown Riverside, transforming the city center into a brilliantly illuminated kingdom of Christmas-oriented entertainment.

The 25th annual festival is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m., when Mission Inn Hotel & Spa owner and festival founder Duane Roberts, along with Mayor Rusty Bailey and other officials, will welcome an anticipated 75,000 people to the Main Street pedestrian mall for the switch-on ceremony.

Roberts will describe the origins of the fest and how it became a nationally renowned event over the last quarter century. Following remarks by the mayor and others, Roberts will then throw the switch on more than five million Christmas lights amid a fireworks extravaganza.

"The Festival of Lights is an honored tradition for generations of Riversiders," Bailey said. "With its focus on family and the importance of spending the holidays with the people you care about, the Festival of Lights is a much-loved event in Riverside, and deservedly so."

The six-week festival, which began in 1992, will conclude this holiday season on Jan. 7. Preparations have been going since late August, with crews working round-the-clock shifts.

Each fest opens with a pyrotechnics spectacular that illuminates the entire Main Street plaza. Afterward, the century-old inn is bathed in multi- colored hues, with some 400 animated characters, including elves, toy soldiers, nutcrackers and angels, visible on banisters, balconies and ledges.

Towering Christmas trees line the way outside and into the hotel, where visitors also encounter a mistletoe measuring 12-by-8 feet.

Nightly horse-drawn carriage rides are planned, along with performances by the celebrated Dickens carolers.

Santa and Mrs. Claus will be fixtures in the area fronting the castle- like inn. Other attractions at this year's festival will include a Ferris wheel, a 36-animal "Colorful Carousel," live musical entertainment and other acts on two specially constructed stages between Mission Inn and University avenues, trackless train rides and a variety of activities for children, according to organizers.

"Duane and (his wife) Kelly Roberts have invested an immense amount of their own time, financial resources and personal attention to making the Festival of Lights such a beacon for people around the world," Councilman Jim Perry said. "The amount of goodwill and holiday cheer they have brought to Riverside during the past quarter-century cannot be overstated."

The city complements the festival with light displays on downtown streets.

USA Friday named it "America's Best Holiday Festival of 2015" as part of the paper's 10Best Readers' Choice Contest.

The Mission Inn and festival will be represented in Riverside's float at the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena on New Year's Day -- the city's first appearance in the acclaimed event since 1959.

About 500,000 visitors are expected over the duration of the fest's quarter-century celebration, organizers said.

— By City News Service / Image courtesy Mission Inn Hotel & Spa