SPECIAL EVENTS

It's time once again for the best neighborhood Christmas festival in Houston, Lights in the Heights 2009.  A Woodland Heights neighborhood event, where the City of Houston is invited to the party! Saturday, December 12th - 6:00pm to 10:00pm.  This is our 22nd year and that means we will be having an even bigger and better event!!! The Route this year is along Byrne and Euclid!!!

The Woodland Heights neighborhood is one of the oldest and most historic in Houston. The neighborhood was one of the earliest in the United States to be linked together via a community email list, and its active civic association sponsors an annual "Lights in the Heights" celebration each December, in which 14 blocks of two parallel streets are lit by luminaria and closed to motor vehicles.

The celebration features hot beverages, live music and carriage rides, and attracts visitors from all across the city.

The festival, which was born almost two decades ago as a way for neighbors to get to know each other, has ballooned into one of the most anticipated events in the Heights community, and this year, organizers say, should be no different.

"It's mind-boggling to think that we could have up to 10,000 people here," said Sharon Greiff, co-chair of the civic group's Lights in the Heights committee. "We try to keep it fresh every year, and people just keep responding to it."

A variety of musicians will perform on porches and in front yards along Bayland and Woodland, as well as on the festival's main stage on Norhill.

"We've got everything from traditional to eclectic," Greiff said. "We'll have school bands performing, then down the street you may here some traditional Russian music. It's a unique mix, and almost everything will be taking place right in people's front yards."

Lights in the Heights features some of the best live music you can hear for free anywhere. If you've never been, you're missing out.

Please note the warnings about street closures, and park accordingly. Click here for an event map.