Light Up Your Holidays at the Fantasy of Lights

NEW HAVEN - The Fantasy of Lights, presented by Easter Seals Goodwill Industries and sponsored by PSEG, will open on Nov. 18 and run an extra week, ending on Jan. 7, 2012. The Fantasy of Lights is adding the extra week to be open on Three Kings Day, which is celebrated on Jan. 6, 12 days after Christmas and often viewed as the last day of the Christmas season, according to a statement.

The park opens nightly at 5 p.m. and is open until 9 p.m. on Sundays through Thursdays, and until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Each display is sponsored by a local area business, corporation, individual or organization, the statement said.

This year, the Fantasy of Lights will feature two brand new displays: A Fire Dog with Santa is sponsored by Honeywell Fire Systems and a Nativity Scene is sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, the statement said.

"This is the first time the event has featured a display with religious imagery," Bill Howard, Grand Knight of Holy Family Council 8882 in New Haven, said in a separate statement.

"At Christmas time the Knights of Columbus internationally promotes the message "Keep Christ in Christmas" to remind people about the true meaning of Christmas," Howard said, also in the statement

The Fantasy of Lights is also going green this year, with 14of the over 60 displays featuring LED light bulbs. The new bulbs save energy and electricity and make the displays more colorful and more vibrant, the statement said.

Organizers also are working with display sponsors to convert more and more displays to LED bulbs in the future, the statement said.

Admission to the Fantasy of Lights is $10 for passenger cars/family fans, $25 for 15-passenger cans or mini-buses and $50 for full sized buses. All proceeds go to support Easter Seals Goodwill Industries' mission to enhance employment, educational, social and recreational opportunities for people with disabilities and other challenges, the statement said.

For more information about the Fantasy of Lights or how you can help out, contact the Development Department at (203) 777-2000 x263, email them at events@esginh.org or visit www.eastersealsgoodwill.org/fantasyoflights.

Editor's note: All information in this post was contributed by Easter Seals Goodwill and the Knights. Photo contributed by Knights of Columbus.