Last chance to see the lights

With Christmas on a weekend, there may be some extra time to take the family out of the house. As temperatures are expected to turn chilly, it would be a perfect time to bundle up and see all the pretty sights before we head into the new year.  
First stop is downtown Beaumont to see one of the largest Christmas trees in Southeast Texas. This massive tree is located near the Downtown Event Centre Lake located at 700 Crockett St. It’s definitely worth some selfies and also free to get to.
Ford Park is hosting Magic of Lights through Jan. 1, 2023. this drive-through will feature displays this year such as Barbie, 12 Days of Christmas, Big Foot Monster Trucks, Prehistoric Christmas and the Enchanting Tunnel of Lights. Scenes are as high as 32 feet tall and as long as several 100 feet with over a million lights.
Magic of Lights will ignite memories of the past while creating new ones with loved ones. Buckle up the kids and enjoy the convenient drive-through at one price for the whole family. Online prices are $29.90 for a standard vehicle at fordpark.com. Gate prices are $30 for weekday and $35 on the weekend. Magic of Lights will run from 5-10 p.m.
Ford Park is located at 5115 Interstate 10 South in Beaumont. For more information and tickets, view fordpark.com.
Lamar University has teamed up with ExxonMobil to the community enjoy the holiday spirit with two festive events – Cardinal Lights and Christmas in Boomtown: City in Lights.
Families are invited to take a slow drive through the Lamar University campus to enjoy the lights and other holiday decorations. Thousands of lights will adorn trees and illuminate campus buildings around Jimmy Simmons Boulevard, Jim Gilligan Way and the Rolfe Christopher Drive entrance to campus through the entire month of December. No admission fee through Dec. 31.
The community is also encouraged to visit Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown at 5550 Jimmy Simmons Blvd. near the campus of Lamar University and see the city decked out in lights. Entrance times are 2-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 5-9 p.m. on Sunday.
Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown is a replica of the boomtown that grew up around the Spindletop oil fields in the early 1900s.
Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors 60 years and older, $2 for children ages 6-12 and free for kiddos 5 and under. Those who bring five nonperishable food items will receive free admission and the items will then be donated to the Southeast Texas Food Bank.
Located at 2525 FM 565 in Baytown, Magical Winter Lights is the former champion of “The Great Christmas Light Fight on ABC Network.
Begin your enchanted journey to tour more than 100 individual lantern sets in eight unique themed sections. Find the magical castle, a Christmas village, skylines of Houston, a Dino fun zone, festival foods, carnival rides and games, Santa and Ice Sisters meet-and-greet, local cultural performances on select nights, and more. A total of 6 million lights are waiting for your amazement through Jan. 7, 2023.
Tickets for Magical Winter Lights can be purchased online at magicalwinterlights.com.
The Annual Festival of Lights at Moody Gardens in Galveston is filled with even more lights than before, with over 100 sound-enhanced animated light displays themed to their favorite holiday music, hot cocoa, fireside smores, and other festive food. Enjoy “Ice Land: A Caribbean Christmas” ice sculpture attraction returns after two years since the pandemic. An Arctic Slide, outdoor Ice Rink, holiday 3D films, Rudolph 4D, pictures with Santa, train rides, Cirque Joyeux Holiday Show, New Years’ Palooza, and a variety of hotel packages are also available.
Patrons can purchase tickets only for all Moody Gardens’ attractions at moodygardens.com.
Our close friends in Houston have several spots that take lights to a whole new level.
Internationally acclaimed Lightscape returns to the Houston Botanic Garden. It’s a light show with magical displays set along a beautifully illuminated path winding through the Garden. The captivating illuminations – blending new works with favorites from previous Lightscape installations around the world – include an impressive towering arch tunnel sparkling with 100,000 lights. Admission time is 5-10 p.m.
Houston Botanical Garden is located at One Botanic Lane. Tickets start at $18 and can be purchased online at hbg.org.
City Lights Downtown Holiday Magic is pulling out all the stops to transform downtown Houston into the perfect winter wonderland with eight unique themed villages. Open to the public and mostly free, villages offer ice for skating, lights for gazing and activities to make your family's season bright. Whether you are enjoying a night out with friends, an evening of family fun, or a memorable activity for visiting friends and relatives, there is something special for everyone and all ages to enjoy.
For more information, view visithoustontexas.com.
One of Houston’s favorite light experiences is at the Houston Zoo. Through Jan. 8, 2023. This year’s event will feature animal-themed lanterns and glowing flowers, an Illuminated Ocean experience where you walk under illuminated jellyfish and other sea creatures, a 33-foot-tall color-changing holiday tree (perfect for pictures), and the 125-foot-long Infinity Tunnel of Light. Patrons must buy their tickets online at houstonzoo.org.
Just south of Houston near Webster, Space Center Houston presents “Galaxy Lights” through Jan. 1, 2023. Billed as “the most technologically advanced light display in Texas,” guests can experience two high-tech kinetic light shows where dozens of suspended lights move in precise choreographed sequences to music above the Main Plaza. Watch as the orbs move in unison to create colorful shapes and patterns. Catch the original film “Holidays in Space” that includes real footage of astronauts celebrating the holidays as well as interviews with retired astronauts about what it was like celebrating in space.
Hop onto our interactive light pods, go inside the historic shuttle carrier aircraft NASA 905, walk underneath a 30-foot Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, watch snowflakes falling on our massive projection wall and the occasional flurry from a snow machine, grab hot cocoa and s’mores kits and enjoy the holiday atmosphere at the s’more pits and snap a stellar selfie in the Earth photo station and the new snow globe photo station.
For tickets, view spacecenter.org.

-Chad Cooper, Entertainment Editor