Spectacular Lighted Holiday Displays

Two free drive-through events in Muskogee are sure to put you and your family in the holiday spirit.

The Castle of Muskogee’s Christmas Kingdom is a winter wonderland filled with lights, inflatables and holiday spirit.

he largest display of holiday spirit in Northeast Oklahoma can be found in Muskogee. At the Castle Christmas, you can take a slow drive through a Christmas wonderland filled with thousands of lights plus more than 2,000 lighted ­inflatable displays, with new ones for 2012. In nearby Honor Heights Park, the Garden of Lights has been a popular event, attracting thousands of viewers to enjoy over a million lights ­displayed throughout the park. Both events are free.

    For a change of pace, you can choose to tour the Christmas Kingdom in a tractor-drawn hayride which travels through a very special part of the village that is not accessible to cars. The Garden Room is open nightly from 6 to 10 where you can find those one-of-a-kind holiday ­ornaments for your own display. Soups, sandwiches, cookies, hot chocolate and more are available nightly from 6 to 10 in the Royal Garden Café. Some of the area’s finest artisans will be showing unique handmade gifts. A list of some of these talented artisans and the dates they will be in attendance will be posted at  www.okcastle.com. Stop by the petting zoo for a free, safe and fun experience for the little ones with gentle farm animals.

    Father Christmas will be at the Castle from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. There is no cost to talk to Father Christmas, but pictures will be available at a nominal fee. Visit  www.okcastle.com for a calendar with dates showing when Father Christmas will be at the Castle.

    The 2012 Castle Christmas displays range from four feet in height to a towering 20 feet tall. You’ll see all of your favorite Christmas characters including Santa, the elves, many snowmen, reindeer, penguins, polar bears and more. Also you will see many of your favorite fun ­characters including Mickey Mouse, Snoopy, Scooby Doo, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Winnie the Pooh and Tigger, the Grinch, Elmo, Frosty the Snowman, Homer and Bart Simpson, plus many more. This is thought to be the world’s largest display of inflatables.

    The Garden of Lights ­celebration includes a free drive-through display of over a million shimmering lights displayed throughout the park. Honor Heights Park, internationally known for its Azalea Festival, draws up to a half million ­visitors annually. The park’s 122 acres are planted with more than 30,000 azalea bushes and ­thousands of trees, beautifully situated among the park’s scenic hilltop drive. Christmas lights are placed on trees, bushes and structures throughout the park to enhance the natural beauty of the gardens, waterfalls and ponds. Gates open at 5:30 ­nightly.

    Admission to both events are free, but donations are accepted. Both drive-through events are open nightly from Thanksgiving through New Year’s Eve from 6 to 10 p.m. The Castle’s inside events are open November 22-25, 29-30, and December 1-2, 6-9, and 13-31.

For more information, contact

The Castle of Muskogee

(918) 687-3625

www.okcastle.com