Alexandria, Ontario: Festival of Lights

Sparkling, twinkling, and dancing lights! And FREE hot chocolate 🙂

We’d previously visited The Alexandria Festival of Lights back when we were still a 3-person family, so on Christmas Eve 2015 we did the short drive from my parent’s farm and showed the littlest the more than 200,000 lights. 
There is loads of parking available right beside Mill Pond at the end of Derby Road West. This is a walking tour which is stroller/wagon/wheelchair-friendly as all the paths are paved.
If you’re thinking this is a long tour, it’s not. We strolled the paths easily in about 25 minutes, while stopping to “Oooooo” and “Ahhhhhh” over the displays built by schools, local businesses, and clubs. 
We then went inside the park’s community building to peer into the windows of the impressive winter mini-village, grab a hot chocolate and use the washrooms. What we SHOULD have done was visited the inside part FIRST as there is a scavenger hunt sheet to fill in while seeing the lights. Doh. Next year!

If you’re driving in from Montreal, I’d suggest stopping for a bite to eat in Alexandria or Lancaster; you can also drive the back way from the Saint-Lazare/St. Clet area that’s a fair bit prettier than the 401 or 417. It takes me about 45-50 minutes to drive from the West Island. 

Running between November 26 to December 31, 2016, the Festival of Lights at Island Park is open between 5 and 10pm every night.  For more info on the Light Festival and any special events happening, see the official website HERE or visit their Facebook page.

p.s. There’s a great accessible playground and splash pad at Island park, AND a little beach. I STILL haven’t gotten around to writing the review of it though. Soon, soon….

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