Trail of Lights preps for 2011 comeback

AUSTIN (COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER) - Following the event’s 2010 cancellation, Austin's 46-year-old Trail of Lights festival will return to Zilker Park from Dec. 9 to Dec. 18 with new additions for Austin families.

The returning festival will host 35 lighted holiday-themed displays from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. each night. Along with the displays, the festival boasts many family-friendly events such as concerts, new versions of traditional exhibits, carolers, flash mobs, a Circle of Charities and a community stage featuring choirs and choruses, dance troupes and children's performance groups.

One of the trail's new additions is the ImageCraft Exhibits-sponsored Santa's Pavilion, an enhanced version of the Santa's House exhibit featuring a stage where children can meet Santa and watch him from the trail. Also new for 2011 is the Austin Trailer Food Court.

"Austin is well-known for its trailer food scene, so we’re tapping into those vendors to see if they want to vend on-site," said Amy Vercruysse, Trail of Lights executive co-producer and spokeswoman. "Families have the option to have a dinner on-site at the trail of lights, where that option had been pretty limited in the past."

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