Visiting holiday light displays seems to be one of the favorite traditions of the season, and 2008 is no exception.
Anne Arundel Medical Center’s Lights on the Bay features nearly 70 animated and stationary displays and three lighted tunnels along a two-mile drive through Sandy Point State Park.
“Our displays are unique to this area. We have Tessie, which is the Chesapeake Bay’s version of the Loch Ness Monster, we have midshipmen tossing their hats, a colonial village modeled after old-time Annapolis, and a great undersea adventure this year,” said Katherine Mele, Lights On The Bay’s project organizer.
Lights on the Bay also offers a nightly scavenger hunt for children, as well as 3-D glasses for passengers who pay $3 to get that extra-special experience. And Santa stops in every weekend.
Last year the event saw around 50,000 visitors in 16,000 vehicles. “And if I’m not mistaken, we had five marriage proposals last year too,” Mele said. “It seems to be a popular event for that.”
All proceeds from Lights on the Bay benefit the Anne Arundel Medical Center.
It’s the 15th year for Howard Hospital Foundation’s Symphony of Lights, a long-standing tradition in Howard County.
“It’s a huge event,” said Susan Boyd, the Foundation’s Annual Giving Associate. “Now it’s family tradition to kick off the holidays. A lot of people combine a visit here with a shopping trip to the mall.”
Boyd said the other aspect of the show that attracts visitors is that all proceeds benefit Maternal Child Services. “People know that when they attend, they are doing something for the community. With the money collected last year, we opened the Center for Maternal Fetal Medicine, for moms who are having difficult pregnancies. It’s a wonderful use of the money.”
Symphony of Lights displays larger-than-life animated and stationary light creations, some up to 25 feet tall, and takes volunteers nearly 8 weeks to assemble the entire show.
Lights on the Bay
» Sandy Point State Park, 1100 E. College Parkway, Annapolis
» 5 to 10 p.m. through January 4
» $14 to $50, depending on vehicle
» www.aahs.org
Symphony of Lights
» Symphony Woods, 5900 Symphony Woods Road, Columbia
» 6 to 10 p.m. November 24 through January 4
» $20 to $125, depending on passenger amount
» www.hcgh.org
