Light up your holiday season at Mooseheart’s 8th Annual Holiday Lights display through Dec. 31 at the Mooseheart Child City and School.

Through Dec. 31, you can drive through 2.3 miles of lighted displays. Depending on the flow of traffic, the drive takes about 15 to 20 minutes. The cost of admission is $10 per car, and all proceeds will go towards providing high quality residential care and academic/vocational training for the children of Mooseheart. This includes food, clothing, shelter, books, computers, and recreational training.

Mooseheart’s Holiday Lights show changes every year, but for its 8th annual show, there are plenty of new things to attract visitors.

“I think the Holiday Lights show is an easy family tradition that can be enjoyed by everyone,” Mooseheart Executive Director Gary Urwiler said. “Whether it’s grandparents, parents or children, this is something anyone can experience.”

From its Nov. 24 opening, the show is open from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. every night through Dec. 31.

New this year is a half-mile extension of the route to include Mooseheart’s farm area for the first time. A live Nativity scene will highlight this new portion of the show on Nov. 30, Dec. 7, 14 and Dec. 21-24.

“We wanted to incorporate a little more of the rustic, country portion of the campus, where we have horses and a dairy barn. We’ll have some of our animals, including sheep, goats and a donkey in addition to the people in the Nativity scene,” Urwiler said.

Elsewhere on the 2.3-mile route, new displays have been added and others moved from where they were in 2016, as Urwiler said, “so the show doesn’t become stagnant.”

Another favorite portion of the Holiday Lights experience is Santa Claus. Santa makes his annual return to the Mooseheart Field House on Dec. 8-10 and Dec. 15-17. Santa will sit for free photos from 5:30 and the line will be shut at 8:30 p.m., with those in line at 8:30 still allowed to see Santa.

In addition to Santa Claus, the fieldhouse will also be a place where children can enjoy a bounce house, crafts, holiday music and even a Christmas cookie.

About Mooseheart Child City and School

Mooseheart Child City and School is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that was incorporated in 1994. It is a residential childcare facility located on a 1,000 acre campus 38 miles west of Chicago. It is a home for children and teens in need, from infancy through high school.