Hopelands lights up again

Question: What can people in Aiken do after dark in mid-December that they cannot do the rest of the year?

Answer: Visit Hopelands Gardens.

While the City's park at Dupree Place and Whiskey Road is closed at sunset the rest of the year, it is ablaze with lights and seasons greetings during December. That is when Christmas at Hopelands turns the pathways of this former Winter Colony estate into lighted corridors of holiday memories for thousands of visitors.

Christmas at Hopelands is one of the community's most highly anticipated holiday events, those who go each year are not disappointed as the number of lights continues to grow. More than 100,000 lights were set up and 30 displays erected for guests to gawk at during the nights of this annual event. This is the 18th year the City-owned facility has been opened for Christmas, and it has become one of the most highly anticipated events in the City's annual calendar.

This year more than 400 volunteers went to Hopelands to help set up the features and string the lights. Holiday revelers totaling 20,000 are expected to visit Hopelands this season. Christmas at Hopelands continues on Thursday and will be open through Dec. 23 and again on Dec. 26. Hours for the event are 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. With limited parking at Hopelands, free transportation is provided from the Goodwill parking lot on Whiskey Road.

This is a Christmas experience well worth the effort.