The third of Ashland’s “Big Three” parades is the Festival of Light, held every year on the day after Thanksgiving. The other two are the 4th of July and Halloween parades. This one is the least popular, probably because it is the coldest. But there are still thousands of people in attendance.

After the parade Santa lights up the town (the “Grand Illumination”) from the balcony at Alex’s restaurant. Carols are sung and little kids get their picture taken with Santa at the Black Swan. Over a million lights go on.

The picture, above, is before most of the lights went on since it was taken before the parade. You can see the Varsity Theatre (home of the Ashland Film Festival), and the Ashland Springs Hotel.

We had Thanksgiving dinner at Larks which is between the hotel and the theatre. It was the best Thanksgiving dinner I’ve ever had.

Posted on November 29th, 2008 under only in ashland, places. Tags: buildings, festival of light, night photography, winter. Comments: 2