Turn the weather outside from frightful to delightful with these great places to soak up the winter season’s lights, sights, and bites.
Overly’s Country Christmas
A magical holiday experience in a quaint Christmas village with a light display of over one million lights, Overly’s has been a holiday tradition since 1956. Filled with classic traditions and seasonal treats, Overly’s is both a light display and walk-around Christmas village imbued with the magic of Christmas.
Sing carols around the bonfire, revel in the model train display, meet Santa, and take a wagon ride. Round out your evening with a visit to the Sweete Shop for homemade chocolates and fudge, and shop for gifts in the General Store.
AURORA at Mellon Square
Taking the term “sparkle season” to new heights is the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy’s light installation, Aurora: Illuminating the Holiday Magic of Mellon Square. Thousands of twinkling lights create a magical atmosphere as Downtown’s Mellon Square turns into a radiant wonderland featuring hundreds of diamond-shaped panels that change colors when the wind blows or when people touch them.
Designed by Pittsburgh-based artist Joshua Challen Ice, the installation rises to 25 feet. It dips and bounces across pathways, stretches over the central fountain, and weaves through trees and gathering spaces. Stroll through the glowing surroundings, sip hot cocoa in a heated igloo, enjoy ‘Jolly Trolleys’, and listen to live music at this unique nexus of art, light, joy, community, and festive cheer.
Kennywood Holiday Lights
Voted a USA Today 10Best Theme Park Holiday Event, this year’s Holiday Lights at Kennywood is an all-out holiday experience with more rides, more shows, more lights, more classic Christmas characters, and more seasonal treats than ever before. With five new ways to join in the joy this season, there are so many ways to get in on the festive fun – including the new Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Zone where you can meet him and his friends.
Be mesmerized by thousands of animated lights synced with holiday music during the Holiday Reflections Light Show, have a meet-and-greet with Santa, ride 25+ rides including the Racer, explore the model train display, and more.
Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium
This year the Pittsburgh Zoo has reimagined its well-known Asian Lantern Festival and Zoo Lights displays into Wild Illuminations: A Holiday Lantern Experience. New sights, sounds, and surprises await guests as they encounter more than a million twinkling lights including snowflakes, trees, candy canes, Santa, unicorns, snow monsters, zodiac animals, a mystical dream tunnel of lanterns, and more.
While the main event is the walk-thru experience there are limited dates to do a drive-thru experience instead.
This content was provided by a local, independent contributor to Made in PGH, a lifestyle blog.
