Holiday lights often put people in a good mood.

The Porter County Parks and Recreation Department will offer the Winter Lights Night Festival on Saturday at Sunset Hill Farm County Park in Valparaiso.

“It has a particular draw because our light display is out of this world,” said Darlene McCarty Cohn, the communications director. “There's nothing like it around.”

“From Thanksgiving all the way to New Year's Day we get thousands of families' cars driving through the park just to look at the lights. The festival is the premiere of the lights. Plus, there's all these really kid-friendly events.

“It's an inexpensive way to take the family out for a good time around the holidays and just enjoy being outdoors. It gets people in the holiday spirit. Everybody has a great time.”

The path features not only holiday displays.

“Some of the light displays have been handmade. Some of them we've purchased. A lot of them are animated,” said Cohn about Santas, dolphins jumping out of water, elves throwing presents, a dinosaur, a knight and a dragon and other big displays.

“As you drive around the circle through the park, all along the drive are these fantastic light displays.”

The festival, which has taken place for more than 15 years, includes Duneland Photography Club, based out of Sunset Hill Farm County Park, providing pictures with Santa and Miller's Merry Manor, of Portage, donating cookies to decorate.

The event, which features help from more than 100 volunteers, also includes wagon rides, fireworks, a performance by Valparaiso High School Varsity Singers, and caroling by the Girl Scouts of Valparaiso and Washington Township Service Unit.

“There's something about all holiday lights, regardless of what the holiday is,” said Cohn, of Valparaiso.

“For holidays that happen right around the winter, whether that's Christmas or Hanukkah, we want to light up the dark. The lights are very festive so they're beautiful to look at. They're a way of getting in the holiday spirit but also they give us something beautiful to focus on in the darkest part of the year.”

The festival also will feature food vendors The Country Griller of Hanna, Designer Desserts of Valparaiso and Hot Diggity Dawg of Chesterton. Hot chocolate will be sold by the Liberty Hot Shots 4-H Club of northern Porter County.

“My family goes every year and sometimes multiple times a year. It's so pretty and fun. Oftentimes, we'll drive through it, and my daughter will say, ‘Do it again.' We'll just turn around and go right back in,” said Cohn, whose daughter Rosa is 11.

“The park district really wants the community to turn out and enjoy it. We couldn't do it without a lot of community support as well as a variety of local businesses and organizations sponsoring us.”

Jessi Virtusio is a freelance writer.