Winterhaven festival of light kicks off with great attendance | Community Spirit

TUCSON, AZ (KOLD) - The Winterhaven Festival of Lights brightened the community's holiday spirit as it kicked off on Saturday night.

The streets lit up with bright lights, festive decorations, the sound of horse carriages, Christmas carols, and the smell of hot chocolate and freshly popped Kettle corn.

The 62nd annual event is one of the longest running festivals of its kind in the country.

The festival of lights celebrates the holiday season in Tucson.

It is visited by thousands of people from all over Southern Arizona. 

The festival is one of the most important fundraising events for the Community Food Bank.

Food collection bins were set up in many locations throughout the festival route, and visitors were encouraged to donate a can of food as they walked in to enjoy the festival.

Visitors are encouraged to bring non-perishable food and canned goods items.

The Pasqua Yaqui tribe has donated $30,000 to help sponsor the event.

Jim Click has also donated $10,000.

Organizers were still about $10,000 short right before the event, Winterhaven residents and the homeowners association were helping to pitch in the rest.

The money is used to set up the lights, police and barricades.

The City of Tucson eliminated funding to the festival last year due to budget cuts.

Rather than cancel the festival, organizers turned to the community for donations.

The Festival of Lights for 2011 is Dec. 10th-25th:      

• Walk Thru nights: Dec. 10-12, 14, 16-19, 21-25
• Drive Thru nights: 13, 15, 20

All nights start around 6 p.m. and end promptly at 10 p.m.

Drive-thru nights are very thick with traffic so keep that in mind when you visit. 

For more information, call (520)205-8053.