Arlington's Interlochen neighborhood opens its annual holiday light display this weekend. Organizers say 200 homes are participating along a two-mile route.
"The kids who grew up in this area and went to the Lights and went to the lights when they were five or ten years old are now buying houses in this neighborhood so their kids can enjoy it," says the neighborhood's Ralph Sobel.
The display is free. Arlington Police will guide traffic, and the city's Public Works has set up signs along the route with directions.
This year, Interlochen is honoring two people who have helped the display but died in the past year. Vernon Porter was the HOA's first president and led the creation of the first display in 1976. Allan Saxe was a political science professor at UT Arlington.
"So many residents had a personal connection with him as his students," Sobel says. "When we mentioned we were thinking about this, the comments were all, 'Oh, great, I had him as a professor.'"
Sobel says many displays celebrate Christmas, but others mark the start of Hanukkah or are non-denominational.
He says some UT Arlington professors host a party for international students who cannot go home around the holiday. They also take students on walking tours of the neighborhood.
"They have fun with it even though there's no religious significance to them at all. It's just fun," Sobel says.
Sobel says more houses are decorating with movie themes this year. One house celebrates the Home Alone movies. Another has a Star Wars display, and one house shows giant Legos and Lego stockings with Santa poking out of the chimney.
"My wife won't let me do it, but I want to do a Die Hard theme," Sobel says. "I do believe Die Hard is a Christmas movie. My wife prefers Hallmark, but she still likes Die Hard."
In one case, a realtor selling a house even put lights around the sign. Sobel says people who live in Interlochen have rivalries, but they also support each other as neighbors.
"Our neighbors across the street lent some lights to new neighbors down the block," he says. "They just moved in. They knew they would have to decorate, they just needed a little extra to look better."
Arlington Police urge visitors to plan for an hour winding through the neighborhood, but they say the popularity can lead to long wait times to enter the display. Sobel urges people to get in line before 9 p.m. He says the busiest times are weekends. Since Christmas is on a Wednesday this year, he also expects a rush each night at the beginning of that week.
The Interlochen Lights open Saturday and run through December 25.
Directions from Arlington Police
Enter the Interlochen neighborhood from Westwood Drive at Randol Mill Road.
From westbound I-30, take the Fielder Road exit and go south to Randol Mill Road. Turn right onto Randol Mill Road and follow it to Westwood Drive.
From eastbound I-30, take the Eastchase Parkway exit and go south to Meadowbrook Boulevard. Turn left onto Meadowbrook Boulevard, then proceed to Randol Mill Road. Turn right onto Randol Mill Road and follow it to Westwood Drive.
All other streets leading into the Interlochen neighborhood will be closed. Motorists will not be permitted to make left turns from northbound Bowen Road onto Westwood Drive or northbound Oakwood Lane onto Randol Mill Road.
Tour buses and limousines will not be allowed on Porto Bello Court, Waltham Court, or Postbridge Court.
Traffic can exit the Interlochen neighborhood via Westwood Drive to Randol Mill Road, or by heading southbound on Bowen Road.
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