How to go
What: Holiday Lights on the Hill at Pyramid Hill
Where: Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park and Museum, 1763 Hamilton-Cleves Road, Ohio 128, Hamilton
When: Friday, Nov. 20 through Sunday, Jan. 3. Hours are Monday through Thursday 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday through Sunday 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Open daily, including Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Cost: Monday through Thursday $20; Friday through Sunday $25 (Per carload). Admission for members presenting a current membership card is $15 every day.
More info: Visit www.pyramidhill.org online or call (513) 868-8336.
Guests come from miles around to see the illuminated skating rink area and “Candy Cane Lane” with 10-foot candy canes during Holiday Lights on the Hill at Pyramid Hill.
Hamilton’s popular drive-through light display will open on Friday, Nov. 20. The annual, award-winning attraction features millions of sparkling lights and monumental sculptures. Guests may visit the display beginning at 6 p.m. nightly, through Sunday, Jan. 3.
“We are taking a new step. This year, we have a couple of sections that we are going to computerize. It’s a small step, but we are trying to create some motion and flow with the lights. We have of millions of lights, and we take a lot of pride in being creative with our light display,” said Director of Park Operations Shaun Higgins, who co-directs the park with Jeni Barton.
“We have a lot to work with. We have between the ponds, the gardens, the trees, forest and the sculpture. We have lots of opportunities to get creative and be artistic,” he said.
“The big goal is to someday be able to create light and sound, but we have to go a step at a time. Right now, that’s having a couple of sections that we’re computerizing,” Higgins said.
Serving as a major winter fundraiser for the nonprofit park, Pyramid Hill’s park crew begins designing the light display in September, creating trees that shine up to 40 feet in the air and with illuminated sculptures that glow with a lot of color. Funds raised go toward maintaining the outdoor sculpture park and the indoor Ancient Sculpture Museum.
“As a nonprofit, it’s an opportunity to help us be self-sustaining. When we ask businesses and individuals for sponsorships, that helps to defer the cost, so it helps to keep the park going,” Higgins said.
In the two-mile round trip, visitors can expect to see light displays close to the road with gardens of light as well as those that go further and deeper into the park’s background and surrounding lakes.
“This is a wonderful community event. We take a lot of pride that we are able to do this in Hamilton,” Higgins said.
Located right on Ohio State Route 128, Pyramid Hill will also continue to highlight its new entrance, which features a 50-foot, 30,000-pound sculpture entitled “Passage” by sculptor John Henry.
“The holiday light display has gained quite a reputation. It’s an opportunity for guests to see the park in a different light. For some visitors, it’s their first introduction to the park,” Higgins said.
Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park and Museum is a nationally recognized 335-acre park that features 60 pieces of outdoor sculpture. The 10,000-square foot Ancient Sculpture Museum features an indoor display of ancient Greek, Roman, Etruscan and Egyptian pieces.
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