Imagine a place filled with snowflakes, toys, friendly animals, reindeer and even old St. Nick himself. Nope, it’s not the North Pole; it’s “Lights of Hope.” The annual light show has been illuminating Darwin Wright Park in Anderson South Carolina at Christmas with its 7/10ths-mile drive thru display of over a million multi-colored lights for 16 years.

Volunteers pass out programs and tell people to turn off their headlights as they drive through the park.
They also make sure that the drivers turns their radio to a special “Lights of Hope” station (89.7 fm) that plays Christmas music for people driving through the exhibit. This year the music will be from Trans-Siberian Orchestra and The Kingdom Heirs Christmas Collection. www.kingdomheirs.com

Dates: Thanksgiving Day-Christmas Day
Location: Darwin Park in Anderson, SC on Hwy 178; ½ mile from I-85 at Exit 21
Hours: Opens 5:30 EVERY evening. OPEN during rain.
Admission: $5.00 per car, $10 per 15 passenger van, $20 per bus.

Large groups welcome! - For Vacation Rental homes in the Anderson area visit http://www.mtnlakes.com/SCanderson/AndersonArea.htm

For More Information visit http://www.andersonlightsofhope.org/Anderson_Lights_of_Hope/Welcome.html

The agencies receiving this year’s proceeds and donations will be:
Anderson-Oconee Speech and Hearing
Living Without Limits
Cancer Association of Anderson
Clemson Habitat for Humanity
The Anderson Free Clinic, Women’s Shelter,
Shalom House Ministries, Greater Anderson Rotary Club,
Toys for Tots , Food Bank, Lions Club, and others.

We take donations at the park of special items and they are: 5 or more canned goods, new toys, new blankets, hearing aids, walkers, canes, wheelchairs, and other in-home medical equipment, 2 or more pairs of eyeglasses, new small suitcases.

The Anderson Lights of Hope annual light display has become a main Anderson County attraction during the Holiday season. Many visitors average 5 visits to ‘Lights of Hope’ and the arrangement of the lights changes every year. It has become a tradition in many families for many years. Using over 3.5 million light bulbs Anderson lights of Hope volunteers turn the Darwin Park into a fantasy of lights, enchanting for all ages. The park hosted over 44,000 visitors in 2009 and hopes to increase that number in 2010, keeping the students rather busy. Last year the proceeds donated to charity from this even totaled over $21,000. This is excluding the additional donations of toys, blankets, canned food and other items to area agencies, which totaled over $58,000 in value. This makes it possible for hundreds of children and adults in and surrounding the Anderson community to receive life-changing services. Over $165,000.00 of In-Home Medical equipment was given out to those in need since January 2010. Bringing the total donations to $ 240,000.00