Holiday Lights on the Hill a tradition in Hamilton

Story by Sarah Allen

Photos courtesy of Holiday Lights on the Hill

Story by Sarah Allen

Photos courtesy of Holiday Lights on the Hill

For the past 20 years, tradition has met wonder at the Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park. Each holiday season, the park becomes a dazzling testament to the winter with their annual Holiday Lights on the Hill.

The event is just one example of how the park brings people to art and nature, said executive director Sean FitzGibbons.

“It’s great to hold that tradition,” he said, adding that visitors’ favorite part is the “overall spectacle.”

Holiday Lights on the Hill began when Harry T. Wilks first opened the park to the public, said FitzGibbons. And, since the lights are set up in a sculpture park, he added, guests can see dazzling, holiday lights in a curated layout.

Over millions of lights create the wondrous displays through the two-mile round trip drive. FitzGibbons said people are often surprised by how “expansive” the Holiday Lights trail is.

In addition, FitzGibbons said, the event provides “a new way to explore Pyramid Hill for the season.”

“[Guests can] see the park in, pardon the pun, ‘a new light,’” he added.

FitzGibbons also said that he’s looking forward to Brave Berlin’s projection map sculpture. Brave Berlin worked with the park last year, and they are also known for other projects, such as BLINK Cincinnati.

Last year, Brave Berlin created an installation that included “wonderful animation” and “light projection mapping,” FitzGibbons said.

He added that this year represents a transition to the park’s Borealis program. FitzGibbons described plans for next year’s season, saying that the park is going to put a call-out to all artists in the world to create special pieces. The idea, he said, will be “contemporary artists kind of riffing on holiday light themes.”

This year, however, is all about the park “easing into” that Borealis concept, FitzGibbons said. “Pyramid Hill is really excited to be taking that next step toward Borealis 2020. … We have really wonderful plans for this year.”

Above all, however, the ultimate goal is to provide awe for families — as well as special memories. FitzGibbons said, “We want to make the kids in the car ‘lose their mind’ at the spectacle.”

Salt Magazine

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