Medford welcomes the holiday season in Winter Lights Festival

Medford, Ore. — Over 1,000 people gathered at Pear Blossom Park in Medford Saturday night, to take part in the annual Winter Lights Festival. Members of the Medford City Council led the countdown to the municipal tree lighting just before 6 PM.

The holiday festivities began much earlier; around 3 PM, a children’s coloring contest was held, along with a candy cane hunt.

Performances by local youth dance teams and choirs were scheduled throughout the afternoon. Santa also made a special appearance, taking photos and handing out candy canes.

“Our mission is to help build community, and to create happy people, healthy lives, healthy community, that kind of thing,” Rich Rosenthal said, the Assistant Director of Medford Parks and Recreation. “This is one of the best community builders that I think our department does.”

The event is put on by Medford Parks and Recreation every year. This is the third year the Winter Lights Festival has been held at Pear Blossom Park, but it’s been a Medford tradition for a decade.