Riverside’s Mission Inn Festival of Lights returns with spectacular displays
Festival of Lights now open at Mission Inn
A beloved holiday tradition in the Inland Empire is now in full swing.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - A Riverside holiday tradition returned after the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa threw the switch to begin the 33rd Festival of Lights.
What we know:
The Festival of Lights is a major holiday tradition in Southern California.
The Mission Inn will be illuminated by approximately 10 million dazzling lights, with fireworks lighting up the sky from the hotel's roof. Fortunately, a storm rolling through the region is expected to clear out just in time for the switch-on ceremony.
"We’ll have some cleanup to do, but other than that, we’ll be ready to go," said Patrick O’Brien, spokesman for the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa.
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What’s New This Year
"As always, we add more lights, so there’s probably 11 or 12 million lights," O’Brien said.
"We have more amusement rides for the kids this year, which is super fun. We have Festival of Lights tours that we’re doing, which is a brand new thing." He concluded, "It’s just the best time of year at the hotel."
The event is a year-long effort. Planning for the next season begins in the new year, the lights are taken down and January and crews begin to install the lights for the next season during the summer months.
Mission Inn Festival of Lights ceremony: What to know
The 2025 Mission Inn Festival of Lights Switch-On Ceremony is set for Saturday, Nov. 22.
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Switch-On Ceremony
This season’s switch-on ceremony happened on Saturday, Nov. 22, at 5 p.m. It featured a concert with various bands, cameos from community leaders, and possibly celebrities.
Festival of Lights Dates
The Festival of Lights runs from Nov. 22, 2025, through Jan. 6, 2026.
Click here for more information.
Dig deeper:
Duane Roberts, co-owner of the hotel, passed away in early November at the age of 88.
"He’s a Riverside native, and he wanted to give back to the community and do some sort of major free event. And of course, he turned it into a mega event. It was rated by USA Today as the number one light show in the country," O’Brien explained.
The Source: This article is based on information provided by Patrick O’Brien, spokesman for the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, during a live interview, as well as details from the official event announcement and historical context from previous festival coverage.