The 11th Annual Festival of Lights begins Saturday and runs from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. nightly through Dec. 31. But organizers said opening night won’t be as spectacular as they would like.

Blame it on the rain.

“The rain is really hampering us,” FoL President Pat Simmons said. “It kept us from doing any work on the displays (Monday), and we won’t be able to today, either ... You just can’t mix rain and electricity.”

Simmons and other festival organizers are more or less resigned to last-minute problems — last year’s preparation was hampered by power problems and vandalism.

Although not everything will be in place, Simmons promises a show that will appeal to the Christmas spirit — and patriotism — of visitors.

“The main attraction this year will be recognizing our military,” Simmons said. “There will be a huge U.S. flag, with more than 1,000 lights, in the diorama area (adjacent to the community center).”

And, as always, lighted poinsettias will be almost everywhere, she promised.

All in all, Simmons hopes for a show that will mostly complete, if not fully so.

“We’re expecting it to be about 93 percent ready, but I don’t think it’ll be 100 percent ready,” she said.

“But that just means that they can come visit us again,” Simmons added.

Admission is free to the event, although donations will be accepted.

“Donations are what keep us going,” Simmons said. “One hundred percent of the money from donations goes back into the Festival of Lights.”

Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331, ext. 234 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it