Festival of Lights and Parade in Wheeling, West Virginia

Wheeling, a West Virginia city nestled along the banks of the Ohio River, is home to a number of historic attractions, including the circa-1849 Wheeling Suspension Bridge, West Virginia Independence Hall, Kruger Street Toy & Train Museum and a rich collection of old Victorian homes. Wheeling's holiday season is even more of a draw, as the city dazzles visitors and residents alike with a pair of events focused on holiday lights: Oglebay Resort's Winter Festival of Lights and the Fantasy of Lights Parade in downtown Wheeling.

Festival of Lights

• The Winter Festival of Lights, founded in 1985, is a two-month-long, award-winning lights display that takes up more than 300 acres at Wheeling's Oglebay Resort & Conference Center, which lies about six miles northeast of downtown. The event has no scheduled parade, but from early November to early January, you can view the estimated 1 million lights along a 6-mile drive that winds through the resort and its more than 80 displays, all of which consist of energy-efficient LEDs. No admission fee is charged, but a one-time, per-car donation is requested and allows attendees to come back throughout the holiday season. In addition, trolley tours are provided nightly beginning at the resort's Wilson Lodge.

Lights and Displays

• An annual highlight of the Festival of Lights is the Gardens of Light, a hilltop area that includes 150 hanging baskets of lights, plus a Christmas Tree Farm with more than 30 lighted trees and a life-size nativity display. Gardens of Light tours feature visits to the Oglebay Institute Glass Museum and historic Mansion Museum, as well as the resort's visitor center, greenhouse and specialty shops. In addition, the resort's Good Zoo is home to laser light shows and a choreographed light-and-music production. Other light displays include those themed around the 12 days of Christmas, a 60-foot-tall poinsettia wreath, a Ferris wheel, lighthouse, Cinderella and the "Polyhedron Star," which consists of more than 2,000 lights and rises from the resort's highest point. Several displays also include "Peanuts" comic strip characters such as Charlie Brown and Snoopy.

Activities and Accommodations

• If you're attending the Winter Festival of Lights, you may want to check out some of Oglebay Resort's other holiday attractions. The Good Zoo is home to more than 50 rare or endangered animal species on its 30 acres, plus a collection of model train displays and a 1.5-mile train ride. The Christmas Shop, open only during the Festival of Lights, has a selection of holiday ornaments and other collectibles, and the resort's Ihlenfeld Dining Room sets out a nightly holiday buffet. Oglebay's lodging options include the 271-room Wilson Lodge, which has free Wi-Fi, a luxury spa, two indoor pools, a hot tub, sauna and fitness center. The resort also has furnished cottages ranging from two to six bedrooms, as well as several larger estate homes available for rent.

Fantasy In Lights Parade

• The Festival of Lights isn't the only holiday happening in Wheeling that's centered around lights. The Perkins Restaurant and Bakery Fantasy in Lights Parade, an annual event that has been held for more than 25 years in downtown Wheeling, typically is held on a Friday night in mid-November. The parade, which winds along Market, Main and 16th streets, features approximately 90 entries that include lighted floats, classic cars, costumed performers and Santa's sleigh. A weekend Winterfest celebration held in conjunction with the parade includes a faux ice-skating rink, live entertainment, a crafts show and photos with Santa Claus. If you'd like to watch the parade and stay overnight, Wheeling has a variety of accommodation options, including hotels and bed-and-breakfast inns.

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Parades In Philadelphia

William Penn in the late 17th century selected Philadelphia to serve as capital of his Pennsylvania colony. Over the next century, the city played a pivotal role in America's early history. The country’s founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia, which for a short time also served as the new nation’s capital. Ethnically and culturally diverse, Philadelphia today is America’s fifth largest city. On holidays and other special occasions throughout the year, colorful floats and marching bands fill the streets as Philadelphians celebrate their city’s rich and colorful heritage. Of the city’s many parades, several draw the biggest crowds each year.

Mummers Parade

• The Mummers Parade welcoming in the New Year has been an official Philadelphia tradition since the beginning of the 20th century. Unofficially, such celebrations date back to the city’s earliest days. Elaborately costumed entertainers -- some playing instruments and other acting as clowns -- fill the streets, carrying on customs that originated in the days of ancient Egypt and Rome. These customs, brought to the New World from Europe, have evolved through the years to take on a spirit that is distinctively Philadelphian. The parade consists of five divisions, of which the most famous is undoubtedly String Bands. Other divisions include the Fancy and Wench brigades and the Comic and Fancy divisions. The parade’s line of march originates in South Philadelphia and proceeds up Broad Street to City Hall in midtown Philadelphia.

Thanksgiving Day Parade

• Philadelphia’s Thanksgiving Day Parade may not be the biggest such parade in the country, but it proudly lays claim to the title of oldest. Spectacular floats, giant balloons, clowns, marching bands, choirs, ranks of tap dancers and big-name entertainers make up the line of march, which travels from 20th Street and JFK Boulevard east to 16th Street where it turns left for a block before turning west on Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The parade ends after passing in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Independence Day Parade

• Part of the weeklong Welcome America! Festival celebrating America’s birthday, the Independence Day Parade moves through the heart of Philadelphia’s most historic neighborhood. More than 5,000 marchers join in the July 4th festivities that pass close to such historic landmarks as Independence Hall, Liberty Bell Center, Congress Hall and the Free Quaker Meeting House. Preceding the parade is a reading of excerpts from the Declaration of Independence on the steps of Independence Hall. Shortly after the parade, a ceremony in Independence Square commemorates the 13 original colonies with a gentle tapping of the Liberty Bell for each colony.

St. Patrick's Day Parade

• Traditionally held on the Sunday before St. Patrick’s Day (March 17), Philadelphia’s parade to honor Ireland’s patron saint is the city’s largest parade in terms of total marching participants -- roughly 20,000 representing 150 groups. It is also one of the city’s oldest parades, having first been held in 1771. The parade begins at 16th Street and JFK Boulevard and proceeds along Benjamin Franklin Parkway past the Philadelphia Museum of Art and along Kelly Drive to Lemon Hill Drive. A performing area is set up at Eakins Oval, adjacent to the art museum.

Puerto Rican Day Parade

• A Philadelphia tradition for more than half a century, the Puerto Rican Day Parade celebrates the cultural contributions of the city’s residents of Latino heritage. Philadelphia’s Council of Spanish Speaking Organizations, also known as Concilio, sponsors the annual parade, which is held in late September. Roughly 1,500 marchers participate in the parade, which travels along Benjamin Franklin Parkway to Eakins Oval, where marchers disband.

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