Holidays in the desert can be beautiful! There are some festive events for
everyone to attend and get into the Holiday spirit.
Chocolate Wonderland, at Ethel M (Ethel's) Chocolate Factory , will be open to the public from November 21, 2007 to January 1, 2008, seven days a week (except Christmas Day) from 5PM to 10PM. The cactus garden turns into a Wonderland of 500,000 lights. Friday and Saturday nights, Santa Clause visits the garden from 5PM to 9PM through December 22. Carolers from local choirs perform from 5:30PM to 7:30 PM on Friday and Saturday evenings. This is something that everyone has to see!
The 31st annual Christmas Parade of Lights is happening on Dec. 1 at the
Las Vegas Boat Harbor on Lake Mead. 
So, bring a blanket and sit down
on the beach to enjoy all the boats lit up for the holiday
season.
If you want more holiday spirit,
visit the Magical Forest at Opportunity Village
which runs from November 22 to
December 30. There you can see trees with millions of lights, holiday displays,
ride the "Forest Express" passenger train, have a visit with Santa and enjoy
some hot chocolate and funnel cakes! They have special events and giveaways
throughout the holiday season and the elves work hard all year to make this a
unique experience. So, come and enjoy the Winter Wonderland in the
desert.
Another event that takes place
at Sunset Park is the Gift of Lights. There are over 200 lighted displays in a
drive thru setting. You can tune into a local radio station to enjoy Holiday
music as you drive through the displays. It runs November 8 to January 1.
The hours are Sunday through Thursdays from 5PM to 9PM. Fridays and Saturdays
from 5PM to 10PM. Admission is $13 per car but if you bring a bag of items to
donate to Goodwill, you will get a $2 discount. Partial proceeds fund the Clark
County Scholarship Fund.
Finally, the Nevada Southern
Railway has scheduled their annual Santa Train for the first two weekends in
December. You can take a ride with Santa and Mrs. Claus for just $2 per
person. The train departs at the top of every hour from 10AM to 2PM. For more
information, click here. 
As an added bonus, the fully
restored wood burning steam engine, EUREKA will be doing demonstration runs. It
is not for rides, only for viewing. Click here for a picture and more
information
Happy
Holidays!
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