M’ville Tour of Lights brightens up holiday season

MARYSVILLE — Hundreds of families turned out for the first weekend of this year's Holiday Tour of Lights at the Cedarcrest Golf Course Dec. 12-13. 1

MARYSVILLE — Hundreds of families turned out for the first weekend of this year’s Holiday Tour of Lights at the Cedarcrest Golf Course Dec. 12-13.

High winds saw the first day cancelled Dec. 11.

The Holiday Tour of Lights returns to the Cedarcrest Golf Course from 6-9 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 18, and the Fridays and Saturdays of Dec. 19-20 and 26-27.

For Chris Strovas, the light show has become a family tradition. His six kids enjoyed their first outing so much last year that they were joined by nieces, nephews and grandparents this year.

“Beyond the fact that the kids all love the lights, it’s something fun we can do together, as a family,” Strovas said. “We can all look forward to coming out, enjoying hot cocoa and roasting marshmallows before we go.”

The golf course served free cups of hot chocolate, as its fire pit bustled with attendees making their own s’mores, which Marysville mom Bradi Conner appreciated as she and her four kids waited in line.

“This way, they weren’t bored with waiting,” said Conner, who first heard about the event when she attended the Sept. 13 Touch-A-Truck, another Marysville tradition. “Everyone’s been really nice. If it wasn’t for this, we’d just be sitting on the couch at home right now.”

Fellow first-time attendee Candy O’Donnell of Arlington was taking her four grandkids out for the night.

“We usually go to Stanwood’s holiday lights, but we saw this on Facebook, and it seemed closer by,” O’Donnell said. “We wanted to try something a little different. I like the reflections of the light on the water, and the kids are looking forward to seeing Santa, but the highlight of this day has been no rain.”