NOVA Parks' Holiday Lights Prove Popular Amid Pandemic

VIENNA, VA — Although the COVID-19 pandemic scaled back the holiday season, NOVA Parks brought back a bit of normalcy with its socially-distant holiday light attractions at three locations.

NOVA Parks hosted the Bull Run Festival of Lights in Centreville, Meadowlark Winter Walk of Lights in Vienna, and Cameron Run Ice & Lights in Alexandria from early November through Jan. 20. Collectively, the attractions saw approximately 428,000 visitors, or 33.3 percent more visitors, during the pandemic.

The main reason for the increase was success at the Bull Run Festival of Lights. As a drive-thru holiday lights display with minimal contact with staff, it provided a safe option for families. Attendance nearly doubled from the previous year to 86,523 cars, or an estimated 346,000 people.

Meadowlark Winter Walk of Lights and Cameron Run Ice & Lights had limited capacity due to new coronavirus restrictions implemented by Gov. Ralph Northam on Nov. 15. The two shows switched to online-only tickets to manage capacity but still sold out many nights after first opening in November. For the season as a whole, Meadowlark Winter Walk of Lights had 91 percent of the previous year's visitors, and Cameron Run Ice & Light had about 65 percent of the previous year's visitors.

NOVA Parks estimated the total light show attendance equates to a quarter of Northern Virginia's population.

"In a challenging time, we are so pleased that NOVA Parks could provide our community with fun and safe options to have some entertainment," said NOVA Parks executive director Paul Gilbert. "We expanded all three shows with more displays to delight, and we both opened early and ran late to provide opportunities for the public to enjoy these safe options."

Aside from limiting capacity at Meadowlark and Cameron Run, NOVA Parks implemented daily symptom reporting and temperature checks for staff, face mask requirement for staff and visitors outside cars, and regular sanitation of high tough surfaces.

Cameron Run Ice & Lights in Alexandria remains open for ice skating only on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays through Feb. 28.