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Holiday lights: 12 spectacular Christmas light displays across Raleigh, Triangle, North Carolina

As homeowners prepare to string up countless lights across their windows and sashes, we have a handful of Christmas light displays that are destinations and traditions for thousands around here.

Posted Updated
Hill Ridge Farms' Festival of Lights
By
Sarah Lindenfeld Hall
Editor's note: This popular annual post is updated for the 2019 season.

The chill is in the air and the lights are about to be turned on at the region's biggest Christmas light displays.

As homeowners prepare to string up countless lights across their windows and sashes, we have a growing number of Christmas light displays near Raleigh and surrounding areas that are destinations and traditions for thousands around here. If I had some advice for light goers, get there on the early side or the late side to avoid the crowds.

We'll start with light displays in and around Raleigh and the Triangle. Keep reading for some major light shows beyond the Triangle. You also can find and report the best neighborhood displays on our holiday lights map).

Christmas Lights Across Raleigh and North Carolina

Address: 4546 Godwin Lake Rd., just outside of Benson.
2019 Season: Nov. 22 through Dec. 31.
Hours: 5 p.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 5 p.m. to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday.

The show, which started more than 40 years ago, stretches across 30 acres with colorful lights and the story of Jesus' life complete with 20 custom mannequins in six different scenes. Admission is free. The lights are visible from the road, but you can take a train ride through more than 10 acres of the property for a better view. There's also a carousel. Tickets for the train are $3 and carousel are $2 each. Santa is there nightly through Dec. 24 for Christmas lists and photos. Pictures with Santa are $6. Personal cameras are not allowed for those Santa photos. Concessions are available, including a candy store with a huge selection of treats.

The Meadow Lights covers 30 acres and is believed to be the oldest and largest Christmas light show in eastern North Carolina.
Address: 10 S. Cypress Street, downtown Wendell
2019 Season: Nov. 27 to Dec. 31
Hours: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday

Admission is free for this display, which is best viewed in a lawn chair that you bring from home. The shows run between 30 minutes and 90 minutes and include lights synchronized to music and more. Nearly 400,000 twinkling lights are part of the display. Santa is there for visits from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Saturdays, until Christmas.

Address: 703 Tarboro Rd., Youngsville
2019 Season: Nov. 28 to Dec. 29
Hours: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday
The event includes a covered wagon ride through the farm, which is transformed with hundreds of thousands of lights. There also are bonfires; train rides; the giant slide; an old fashioned candy store; and concessions including food at the Chuckwagon Grill, s'mores, hot chocolate and apple cider. Tickets are $9 to $12, depending on your age and on the day you go. Kids under 2 are free. Group tickets available.
Hill Ridge Farms' annual light show is open nightly through Dec. 31 in Youngsville. Courtesy: Hill Ridge Farms
Address: 1620 Loop Rd., Clayton
2019 Season: Opens Nov. 29 and runs on select nights through Dec. 24.
Hours: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. on select nights; 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Dec. 24. Check the website for details.

You can take a 30-minute Christmas hayride to enjoy the lights and Christmas music; visit with Santa; and treat yourself to some candy, hot chocolate, coffee, kettle corn and s'mores, which you can buy there and make in the picnic area. In the Sugar Barn, visitors can choose and buy cookies to decorate. Tickets are $9 for ages 3 and up. Get a picture with Santa using your own camera or phone for a $6 sitting fee.

Address: Koka Booth Amphitheatre,
2019 Season: Nov. 22 to Jan. 12
Hours: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday (Closed Mondays except Dec. 23 and Dec. 30)

The festival returns for a fifth year and will include more than 20 new displays, each one comprised of hundreds of parts and thousands of LED lights. Date specific tickets are $10 for ages 3 to 12 and $15 for ages 13 and up. Any night tickets are $20 a piece. Children 2 and under are free.

The North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival is back at Koka Booth Amphitheater in Cary. With 20 new displays, the festival runs through Jan. 15.
Address: 5725 Fixit Shop Rd., Wake Forest
2019 Season: Typically opens the day after Thanksgiving and runs until after Christmas.
Hours: 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday.

A homegrown display that's turned into a destination, Piper's Lights features more than 1 million lights. Visitors can drive through the display or stop for a quick train ride and to buy concessions and candy from a small store. It's free to see the lights and take the train ride (though donations are appreciated). You also can visit with Santa, enjoy some concessions and buy some candy and local holiday crafts.

Address: 8008 Old Stage Rd., Raleigh
2019 season: Opens Nov. 28
Hours: 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., Sunday through Thursday; 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., Friday; 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Saturday

Formerly known as Ten-Ten Lights, Fieldstream Farm features a drive-through light show with 1 million lights decorating acres of farm land. It includes an LED-lit tunnel of lights with more than 200,000 lights. Tickets are based on the number of passengers in a vehicle and start at $22.74 for vehicles with 6 or fewer passengers.

Beyond the Triangle
Address: 4259 Handy Rd., Denton
2019 Season: Select days from Nov. 29 to Dec. 27
Hours: 4:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday; 4:30 p.m. to 10 p.m., other days

The evenings include a lighted walking tour through the general store and grist mill to see arts and crafts; a church to hear the Christmas story and enjoy some carols; a visit with Santa; a ride on the so-called Handy Dandy Railroad to see a movie on the birth of Jesus; and lights around the park. There also are pony rides and hayrides through the lighted woods. Tickets are $16 for adults; $5 for kids under 11; and free for kids 4 and under. Denton is about two hours west of the Triangle.

Address: Charlotte Motor Speedway, 5555 Concord Parkway South, Concord
2019 Season: Nov. 22 to Jan. 5
Hours: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., daily. Closed Dec. 25. The Christmas Village is closed on some weekdays. Check the website for the schedule.
Speedway Christmas features more than 3.5 million lights throughout a 3.75-mile course. Visitors can drive on the front stretch of the speedway to see synchronized lights set to music in the grandstand above A Christmas Village includes a petting zoo, Bethlehem village, photos with Santa and more. Movie nights feature holiday flicks. This year, there also will be a 100-foot slide, carousel and 50-foot Ferris wheel. It's about 2.5 hours from Raleigh. Tickets vary depending on the night and start at $25 per car.
Nightly through Dec. 31 (closed Dec. 25), the public can drive along the 3.75-mile course at Charlotte Motor Speedway to take in more than three million lights.
Credit: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Address: Tanglewood Park, 4061 Clemmons Rd., Clemmons, N.C.
2019 Season: Nov. 15 to Jan. 1
Hours: 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., nightly

This is the 28th season for this very popular light show that features a five-mile route with more than 100 displays and 1 million lights. About 250,000 visitors attend each year. And there can be long wait times to get in - as much as four hours on a Saturday night, the website warns. But, I can personally attest, it's really beautiful. Evenings also include horse-drawn carriage rides, s'mores making, visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus and the opportunity to stay at the park in either your RV or at the park's on-site bed and breakfast. Tickets start at $15 for families, who come in a car, van or truck. Clemmons, which is near Winston-Salem, is about two hours from Raleigh.

Address: Private homes throughout the town are lit up
2019 Season: Dec. 2 to after Christmas
Hours: 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., weekdays, and 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., weekends

Now in its 64th year, private homes across the town are lit up for the holidays. The event has received extensive media coverage over the years - and 600,000 visitors last year. You can walk or drive the 1.3-mile route through town to see the lights. On weekends, it can take 30 minutes to 45 minutes to drive the full route. The town recommends visiting on weeknights to avoid big crowds. McAdenville is just under three hours from Raleigh.

Address: N.C. Arboretum, 100 Frederick Law Olmsted Way, Asheville
2019 Season: Nov. 22 to Jan. 4
Hours: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., nightly
Visitors walk through the outdoor holiday light exhibit that features 500,000 lights, along with holiday music and beverages. Tickets are $12 for kids ages 5 to 11 and $18 for adults. Asheville is about four hours from Raleigh (and also, of course, features the spectacular Christmas at Biltmore.

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