Driving through a tunnel of lights may not have evoked the same sense of cheer and exhale of normalcy in 2019 as it does in 2020.
This is due to the threat of COVID-19 prompting residents this year to trade their parents’ house for video calls, brick-and-mortar businesses for online shopping, and road trips and flights for the escape found in streaming services. And while many still indulged in holiday traditions, Christmas 2020 didn’t provide many opportunities to venture outside with a global pandemic still raging.
Events such as Hidalgo’s Festival of Lights met people in the middle.
Like several other drive-thru events held in the Rio Grande Valley, the month-long Festival of Lights at the Payne Arena in Hidalgo provided residents a COVID-safe experience to see the twinkling light fixtures and displays dazzling youngsters and adults young at heart, and satisfying the urge of those in the community who’ve grown restless in self-isolation.
Families have taken to social media to share photos of children taking in the experience.
Themed the “Season of Hope,” the show still has a few more days of holiday cheer to spread in the community as the festival runs through Wednesday.
Tickets for the festival, which is held from 6 to 10:30 p.m., can be purchased at www.hidalgofestivaloflights.com.
