Glendale Glitters

One of the items near the top of our "Places To Go In Phoenix" list was "Glendale Glitters."

Described as "Glendale's award-winning holiday lighting event," this holiday celebration has become a family tradition across the Valley and state.

I arrived a bit before sundown and took a few photos of downtown Glendale.

The Gaslight Inn

Haus Murphy's

An alley opposite Haus Murphy's

An exhausted greeter at one of the downtown shops

An unusual, but yet appropriately painted, fire hydrant

An early-arriving musician

Murphy Park is located in downtown Glendale and is the site of many of the city's special events including, Glendale Glitters.

Murphy Park

This canopy of lights viewed from the northeast corner of the park is among the stunning display of 1.5 million lights that illuminates 16 blocks of Historic Downtown Glendale, making it the largest free holiday light display in Arizona.

All of the photos here were taken in this neighborhood park, which covers about three acres with the Velma Teague Branch Library nestled in the middle.

This year marks the city’s 20th year of this winter display.

Renovated in the mid-1980s, the park has a circular brick pathway lined with gaslamps. The pathway winds among more than 100 trees that must have taken weeks to cover with lights.

The crowds were relatively small on this weeknight, but on the weekends with entertainment and vendors and during the opening and closing dates, the crowds are considerably larger.

"Glendale Glitters" lasts for two months and attracts about a half million people to the park each year.

It was still early in the evening when the early-arriving baritonist began playing Christmas carols.

But I must admit that I missed the sound of walking on packed snow--that "crunch" of boots on snow when temperatures are in the twenties.