{"id":38590,"date":"2025-11-19T13:31:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T13:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/38590\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T13:31:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T13:31:12","slug":"more-than-lights-at-nepa-holiday-light-displays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/38590\/","title":{"rendered":"More than lights at NEPA holiday light displays"},"content":{"rendered":"

The switches are being flipped on at Christmas light displays around the region and there is a lot more than just lights.<\/p>\n

Koziar\u2019s Christmas Village, in Bernville, is already open.<\/p>\n

The Light the Night walking trail at Sugarloaf Golf Club near Hazleton begins Friday.<\/p>\n

The Back Mountain Festival of Lights drive-through at Stone Hedge Golf Course near Tunkhannock opens Saturday. There is a special benefit preview night on Friday for walkers and runners.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe holiday lights display at Nay Aug Park a previous Christmas. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO)<\/p>\n

A large free display, the Holiday Light Spectacular at Nay Aug Park, Scranton, kicks off Monday at 5 p.m.<\/p>\n

Joy Through the Grove, the display at Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg, opens the day after Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

To varying degrees, they are all more than light shows, with snacks for sale, maybe Santa on at least some nights and other features.<\/p>\n

In a different style, Berwick\u2019s famous Christmas Boulevard focuses on large dioramas and traditional decorations among the lights. It is free, opens Dec. 6 and also features Santa on some nights.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The displays that line Berwick\u2019s Christmas Boulevard include many themes. (Courtesy of Christmas Boulevard)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The holiday lights display at Nay Aug Park in Scranton in a previous season. (CHAD SEBRING\/STAFF PHOTO\n<\/p>\n

\"Lights<\/p>\n

Lights at Nay Aug Park in a previous season. (Lackawanna County Visitors Bureau)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 3<\/p>\n

The displays that line Berwick\u2019s Christmas Boulevard include many themes. (Courtesy of Christmas Boulevard)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a>
\nKoziar\u2019s Christmas Village<\/p>\n

First up: Koziar\u2019s Christmas Village, a family-owned enterprise in its 78th season. It is a 40-minute drive from Pottsville.<\/p>\n

Koziar\u2019s is already open on weekends. From Thanksgiving Day through Jan. 3, it is open every day, including the holidays.<\/p>\n

The self-guided walking tour stops by several buildings, with indoor and outdoor displays including train layouts, a manger scene, food and a gift shop.<\/p>\n

Ticket prices vary. Tickets for ages 11 to 64 are $13. There is a $5-per-person upcharge on certain dates.<\/p>\n

See koziarschristmasvillage.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sugarloaf Golf Club<\/p>\n

The Light the Night at Sugarloaf Golf Club near Hazleton begins Friday. The schedule varies, with Dec. 30 being the last night.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a walk-through display with a play area, fire pits, a candy store, a Christmas-themed toy store and extensive menu that includes a full bar.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe try to create a scene here that keeps kids busy, so that parents can enjoy themselves just as much as kids,\u201d said clubhouse manager John Carsia. \u201cWe really brand this as something for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parents can see into the supervised play areas while sipping cocktails in glasses that glow. Snowball fights, with fluffy faux snowballs, are set among hay bale barriers. Sugarloaf sells s\u2019mores kits to make over the fire pits.<\/p>\n

The 30-minute walk through millions of lights is interspersed with the fire pits and a refreshment stand. You might spot Santa along the way. The animated light displays include a yeti, the Grinch, a penguin jumping into a pool of water, and reindeer that sing and dance.<\/p>\n

Admission is $10 for kids and $15 for adults.<\/p>\n

Carsia expects 10,000-plus visitors.<\/p>\n

Check the calendar at sugarloafgolfclub.com\/holiday-lights<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Stone Hedge Golf Course<\/p>\n

At Stone Hedge Golf Course, Friday\u2019s preview is a fun run and walk, but not a race. The $25-per-person fee benefits local first responders.<\/p>\n

Stone Hedge opens to drivers Saturday and runs through New Year\u2019s Eve. It is open every night except Christmas Eve.<\/p>\n

Owners Karen and Bill Ruark added two big displays this year. One was inspired by the new Smurfs movie and the other by \u201cThe Nightmare Before Christmas,\u201d which Karen Ruark calls an \u201cadorable\u201d movie.<\/p>\n

Overall, their grounds crew puts up 30 to 35 themed pieces. \u201cWe make it new, because we never put anything in the same place twice,\u201d she said. The drive is 2.5 miles long, through 4 million to 5 million lights.<\/p>\n

Warm up by a fire with refreshments.<\/p>\n

Ruark said business is good but wouldn\u2019t give attendance figures. It is high enough that they can keep their grounds crew working all year. That was the goal when they started the light festival several years ago.<\/p>\n

Admission prices are per vehicle: $30 Sunday through Thursday and $35 Friday and Saturday.<\/p>\n

Tickets are not sold online, but the Facebook page lists a few businesses where tickets are sold in advance.<\/p>\n

Other details are on the website: playstonehedge.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Nay Aug Park, Scranton<\/p>\n

A large free display, the Holiday Light Spectacular at Nay Aug Park kicks off on Monday and runs every night through Wednesday, Jan. 7. Hours are 5 to 10 p.m.<\/p>\n

Last year, a big waving Santa debuted, with a sign that says, \u201cTo all a good night.\u201d That\u2019s the latest big addition.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big focal point for people,\u201d said Bob Gattens, chairperson of the Scranton Municipal Recreation Authority. \u201cSo many people had their pictures taken in front of it last year. So it was an eyecatcher.\u201d He estimates it is around 36 feet long and 16 to 20 feet high.<\/p>\n

There are local touches among the displays in the wooded park, such as references to the old zoo and a copy of the Electric City sign.<\/p>\n

Almost 50,000 cars drove through last year. Visitors can also see the display on foot.<\/p>\n

The numbers were down last year because Thanksgiving fell in late November, as it will this year.<\/p>\n

Last year donations fell to about $35,000 because of the calendar and bad weather. Volunteers collect around $60,000 in better years.<\/p>\n

There are about 20 volunteers working on the display, which was again erected by Parks and Recreation Department employees. Last year, the city tried an outside contractor.<\/p>\n

Knoebels Amusement Resort<\/p>\n

The drive to Knoebels Amusement Resort is 50 minutes from Pottsville, 70 minutes from Wilkes-Barre, 80 minutes from Scranton and one hour from Hazleton.<\/p>\n

Joy Through the Grove is a 2-mile drive through 500 illuminated pieces and 15 miles of string lights. The ride through the resort\u2019s wooded areas includes Knoebels\u2019 themed displays.<\/p>\n

Snacks are for sale at the entrance, including their traditional fudge.<\/p>\n

It opens the day after Thanksgiving and runs through New Year\u2019s Eve, but is closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.<\/p>\n

Admission, per vehicle, is $25 on weekdays and $30 on weekends, with a $5 discount for online sales and higher prices for larger vehicles.<\/p>\n

Various promotional nights are listed at knoebels.com\/joy-through-the-grove<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Berwick\u2019s Christmas Boulevard<\/p>\n

Berwick\u2019s Christmas Boulevard has been drawing crowds for more than 75 years.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s new? \u201cThat\u2019s a surprise,\u201d said Patsy Bowers, the committee president.<\/p>\n

Christmas Boulevard opens Dec. 6 and goes through New Year\u2019s Eve. On opening night only, pedestrians will be allowed to walk along the exhibits.<\/p>\n

Beginning at Third and Market streets, the route is lined with large display cases and more traditional decorations and lights.<\/p>\n

Santa will be on hand through Dec. 23.<\/p>\n

Hours are 6 to 9 p.m. on Monday through Thursday and 6 to 10 p.m. on weekends.<\/p>\n

There is a Facebook page.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The switches are being flipped on at Christmas light displays around the region and there is a lot…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38591,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[23522,178,180,179],"class_list":["post-38590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-holiday-light-displays","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}