Karl and I camped at Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park in White Spring, FL last week. For years we attended their annual Festival of Lights, then skipped a year or two due to changes they made. We decided to try again. It changed again, and we loved it.
The Festival of Lights goes on most of December, with Silent Nights some nights which mean just the lights are available and Holiday Nights, which include Santa, a snow machine, the Gingerbread Village with the store open, craft cabins open, free popcorn and free hot chocolate. And, of course, the lights. We attended Sunday for the first time, and saw cars streaming in and parking, and families walking everywhere. We made our way through the wonderfully lit pathways, with creative light displays everywhere we looked. We commented to a ranger on the number of people, and she smiled and said “You should have been here last night, we had even more then”.
We bought some food at the North Pole Cafe and sat at a picnic table to eat and people watch. Suddenly at 6:30 the snow machine came on, and children ran yelling from everywhere in the area, all focusing on the snow. For those in northern climates, Florida rarely sees snow so this is a magic sight to the kids.
We continued to walk around, visiting the model train exhibit which takes up an entire room and should not be missed. Santa visits with children in another room of the same building.
We celebrate several holidays during this short, festive season, including a very personal one, our wedding anniversary.
Happy holidays and best of the season to everyone!
Nichter Photography PLUS 