Winterhaven Festival of Lights

Alicia and I had originally planned on going to Tucson for this light fest on opening day, December 15th, but that was a cold and rainy day. We rescheduled this for the 21st, the following week and I am so glad we did. Weather was pleasantly warm and dry.

I took Minnie along. Sadie stayed at home because she had two minor suspect epileptic seizures, the latest last Wednesday night when she woke me up with her heavy panting and was drooling on my chest. She had been acting restless and whinier than usual earlier in the week, too. She thus has been put on a low-stress exercise regimen under constant supervision. Her continued dosage of phenobarbital is keeping her chemically balanced. She hadn't had any massive seizures since her cluster episodes in August.

Eric walked Minnie the entire time while I took photographs. He is so patient with her. She sat nicely with Luna, Alicia's dog, on the cot in the van. They got along the entire time.

We arrived at the Winterhaven neighborhood after 5pm. Lights don't officially get turned on until 6pm but some houses were already prepared while many more were still in the process. We got there at dusk as we walked around this modest neighborhood with stately, mature Italian pines. I was expecting oversized mansions and gawdy decor, but the displays were nicely done. Every decorated house used the Christmas theme to their own interpretation: from religious to eclectic, from Charlie Brown to Santa and Frosty and even the Grinch, there was a lot of work for all these displays. Some created lawn displays while others spread colorful lights across their property.

Crowds didn't show up en masse until around 7pm. Everyone and their dog came out of the woodwork then! The young, the old, the couples and large groups, all made an appearance. I actually enjoyed the crowd, but poor Luna's paws were run over by a stroller and later a big aggressive Lab, Riley, came after her. Minnie barked and pulled at the chihuahuas. Neither dog panicked when the horse carriages came through several times. Minnie kept wanting to track the scent. Neither dog also was great about not pooping on the street. The plastic bags we brought along for that purpose were not necessary.

The center of the neighborhood is at a small park off Kleinbaker Avenue, an east-west street. A few coffee and cocoa vendors were set up here where people mingled and relaxed. A few sang carols. I didn't bring any spare change to buy us all something to drink.

I took lots of photos. Eric seemed to enjoy the walk, too. He hadn't been in Tucson since I took him there in July and we got caught in some rain while walking on campus.

We walked perhaps two miles around the entire neighborhood, stopping frequently to chat and admire the lights, pet the dogs and take pictures.

We didn't stay until lights were out at 10pm. Instead, by 7:30pm we all agreed that we were hungry and thirsty and needed to find something to eat. Traffic was congested all around the Winterhaven neighborhood, and I opted instead to drive south to Speedway and eat at Oregano's, my favorite Italian restaurant in Tucson. It was a good choice.

I will definitely come back here next year if the Festival is still offered. The homeowners spend a lot of money on electricity for this annual show and visitors are only asked to bring in canned goods that is then given to local charities. This year the lights were sponsored in part by several large corporations. This helped bring people back to Winterhaven to enjoy the holiday spirit with friends and loved ones.

Getting to Winterhaven from Sierra Vista is easy: get off exit 265 (Alvernon Road South), turn right on Aviation Parkway, right on South Country Club Road and stay on that for five miles. A good place to park is off Prince Road, but there are entrances to the neighborhood off Fort Lowell and other adjacent streets. Other businesses nearby charge for parking but we parked for free.