Festival of Lights is the City’s signature holiday celebration. The Festival includes the “Switch-On Ceremony”, holiday decorations and lights along Mission Inn Avenue and on City-owned buildings, an outdoor ice skating rink, holiday-themed vendors, entertainment, and of course, Santa Claus.
The Festival kick-off occurs the day after Thanksgiving and continues daily through the first of the New Year. A Riverside tradition since 1992, the “Switch-On Ceremony” takes place the day after Thanksgiving at the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa, and is presented by Duane and Kelly Roberts, owners of the Inn. More than three million twinkling lights and hundreds of animated characters are used to decorate the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa.
