Florida’s best Christmas lights in St. Augustine, Naples, Ocala

City Hall in St. Augustine during the Night of Lights. FloridasHistoricCoast.com/CONTRIBUTED

Florida’s city centers, small towns, neighborhoods, and historic cities light up each year during the holidays.

Some are city sponsored events while other neighbors decorate their own homes for others to drive by or walk through.

Many last a few weeks, usually between Thanksgiving and New Years. But St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights lasts more than two months and runs from November 20th through January 31st.

Each is unique and worth the trip to visit those near where you live or your vacation season.

Night of Lights in historic St. Augustine

Named one of the Top 10 Displays in the World by National Geographic, Nights of Lights in St. Augustine is located in our back yard.

From November 20 to January 31, the historic city will dazzle visitors with white lights in Plaza de la Constitucion, along the bay and in other parts of downtown.

This is the 28th year of the display, which includes millions of white lights.

Everything starts on Saturday, November 20th with Light-Up! At night, when the city lights come on during an evening ceremony at 6:30 p.m. in the plaza.

The pavilion in Plaza de la Constitucion in St. Augustine during the Night of Lights. FloridasHistoricCoast.com/CONTRIBUTED

Many restaurants and shops are open late during the holiday season so there is plenty to enjoy during your visit.

But walking isn’t the only way to enjoy the lights. Try a boat ride, trolley tour, or helicopter ride from different angles.

The city offers a free park-and-ride shuttle on certain days during the season. For information on parking, tours, and other ways to best experience the lights, visit floridashistoriccoast.com/nights-lights.

– Mary Kelli Palka / Florida Times-Union, Sheldon Gardner / The St. Augustine Record

Illumination of the ancient city:The organizers of Nights of Lights are betting on a “very busy” holiday season for St. Augustine

A group is driving around in a golf cart to watch the light shows around Victoria Park in Naples on Monday 14 December 2020.

Neighbors light up Victoria Park Naples

Every year there seems to be bigger and better Christmas lights that win a top award on a TV show.

But there’s nothing like driving through a neighborhood where every house has captured that Christmas spirit – more than one house per street or a few in a community.

There is such a place: Victoria Park in Naples. These neighbors also decorate their homes, garages, trees, and more every Halloween, but that’s just the starter.

It started three decades ago and residents seem to be increasing the stakes every season. And residents don’t mind queues of cars slowly driving down their streets while passengers marvel at the creativity with lights and displays.

Some streets even have lighted arches across the street to create a sub-tropical wonderland.

“Many nights we sit outside on our porch and just watch people drive by and wave,” Brooke Austin of Victoria Park told the Naples Daily News in 2020. “

How to get there: Victoria Park is actually in the north of Naples, but it’s easy to find. Just Google the words “Victoria Lane Naples Florida” and you are in the heart of the community.

– Dave Osborn, Naples Daily News

Inspired by “Christmas Vacation”:The best Christmas lights in Naples might be in this area, a holiday tradition

Ocala downtown square during the 2020 holiday season.

Let it shine in Ocala

Light Up Ocala under the motto “Let it Glow” in the 37th year 2021 is the city’s greatest Christmas tradition. With Santa, Mrs. Claus, the Grinch and the Christmas tree, there are many colorful photo opportunities. Visitors can use shuttles to travel between three main entertainment stations with live music and performances, or enjoy the Junior Sunshine Parade, which features local dance studios, Boy Scout and Boy Scout troops, Cub Scout packs, and a special Man in Red Appearance.

You can also visit over 100 vendors in historic downtown Ocala for handicrafts and delicious food, or bring your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews to the interactive kids zone designed for the whole family.

The spirited events culminate at the push of a button when thousands of twinkling lights light up at the same time and dazzle the city center.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, visitors are encouraged to wear face masks, maintain social distance, and disinfect their hands frequently.

More information is available online at www.ocalafl.org/lightup. The event will take place on November 20th from 4pm to 9pm

– Danielle Ivanov / Gainesville Sun

Plan your vacation time:Christmas and holiday events around Ocala

Ocali Country Days, Light Up Ocala, Christmas Parade:Time to start planning, Ocala / Marion

Lotus Hedin, right, from Navarre, and her daughter Zoey, 10, pose for a photo with Santa during the Winter Festival in downtown Pensacola on Friday, November 27, 2020.

It’s a winter festival in Pensacola

An elven parade opens up a fun holiday season in the heart of historic downtown Pensacola.

The Pensacola Winterfest officially starts on Black Friday with the parade and ends on Christmas Eve. There are also some great events the week before.

The concept of the Winterfest revolves around themed trolley performance tours that illuminate downtown Pensacola from historic Seville to the Palafox Business District. Visitors will enjoy holiday trolley tours, live performances, visits from Santa and other Christmas characters, and, yes, there is even “snow”.

Tickets for Cajun Christmas, tours (Polar Express, Grinch, or Scrooge), and photos with Santa Claus or the Grinch can be purchased in advance. Reservations are recommended.

However, you don’t have to buy tickets to enjoy the Winterfest. The estimated 500,000 white lights are the real star of this show and help turn Palafox Place into a dazzling winter wonderland. Free preshows in front of the trolley “Liveshows” are also open to the public every 15-20 minutes. November and 3rd, 4th, 10th, 17th, 19th and 21st – 24th.

– Mary Kelli Palka / Florida Times-Union

Winter wonderland:The momentum of the Winter Festival in downtown Pensacola is like a “big snowball going down the hill”

The Sarasota Holiday Boat Parade of Lights, pictured here in 2018, returns on December 11, 2021.

Boat parades and more in Sarasota Manatee

Nestled on the Gulf of Mexico and with a mile-long Intracoastal Waterway, the Sarasota Manatee community’s most famous vacation traditions include lights, palm trees, and colorfully decorated boats.

A tradition that dates back to 1989, the Venice Christmas Boat Parade of Lights takes place in southern Sarasota County on the first Saturday in December. Spectators line the Intracoastal Waterway and gather at places like Pop’s Sunset Grill and Pelican Alley, with the parade starting over the Albee Road Bridge and heading south with a turn at the Circus Bridge. The third annual Bradenton Beach Holiday Boat Parade was scheduled to take place on the same day, passing places like the historic Bridge Street Pier on Anna Maria Island in Manatee County south of Tampa Bay.

On the second Saturday in December, two more major events will take place on the region’s waterways. The annual Holiday Boat Parade of Lights takes place in Sarasota Bay with first-class viewpoints such as Bayfront Park or the reservation of a restaurant in the Marina Jack on the water. Meanwhile, the Manatee River Holiday Boat Parade will find spectators at the Bradenton Riverwalk and Green Bridge Fishing Pier in Palmetto, as well as at VIP parties at the Riverhouse Waterfront Restaurant, Caddy’s and Pier 22.

Of course, holiday events take place ashore in Sarasota-Manatee. Highlights include Lights in Bloom in Selby Gardens (December 11-23, January 26-30, and January 1-2) and the annual Pinecraft Christmas Day Parade hosted by Sarasota’s Amish and Mennonite communities will.

– Wade Tatangelo, Sarasota Herald-Tribune

The best of Sarasota:The 10 Best Places to Visit in Sarasota (and What to Do When You Get There!)

A 9 meter long illuminated Christmas tree is one of the interactive Christmas lights

Dazzling Nights premieres in Jacksonville

With more than 1 million lights, Dazzling Nights at the Jacksonville Arboretum & Botanical Gardens will become the city’s premier vacation attraction in 2021.

Lights and interactive displays include a nine-foot lighted Christmas tree and 20-foot lighted tunnel along the winding, three-quarters of a mile paved Lake Loop Trail in the Arboretum, one of Jacksonville’s hidden gems. And yes, the event organizers say the weather forecast predicts (manufacturing) snow!

The 51-night event, which premieres in Jacksonville this year, follows its 2020 launch in Orlando.

Dazzling Nights is open from November 19 to January 9 every evening from 5:30 am to 9:00 am. Tickets cost $ 22 on weekdays and $ 25 on weekends and must be purchased for a time slot. With limited parking at the arboretum, a free shuttle takes guests from the nearby Regency Square Mall parking lot. For more information and tickets, visit dazzlingjax.com.

– Gary T. Mills / Florida Times-Union

More to see and do:Vacation events in Jacksonville, St. Augustine and more

See similar https://www.staugustine.com/story/news/state/2021/11/18/floridas-best-holiday-lights-displays-st-augustine-naples-ocala-jacksonville/8529313002/

The post Florida’s best Christmas lights in St. Augustine, Naples, Ocala first appeared on Daily Florida Press.

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