Holiday lights 2021: 14 best and brightest Bay Area displays

Deacon Dave is back.

You’ll know the significance of this statement if you’re an avid Bay Area fan of wonderfully over-the-top holiday lights displays. Last holiday season, pandemic concerns prompted some homeowners, organizations or public spaces to cancel or drastically scale back beloved displays.

One of those canceled displays was the world-renowned show that Dave Rezendes, a deacon at St. Michael Catholic Church, has hosted at his Livermore home for nearly 40 years.

To the delight of fans, Rezendes’ illuminated extravaganza is back for 2021. It starts on Dec. 3, with a procession to his property, Casa del Pomba or House of the Dove.

Rezendes’ show is just one of the many popular displays returning in 2021. The Niles Canyon Railway’s historic Train of Lights ride, a no go for 2020, was so wildly missed, the 2021 version sold out almost instantly. Meanwhile, other displays will be bigger and more spectacular than ever, including San Jose’s Christmas in the Park, which has vastly expanded its offerings.

Here are 14 of the Bay Area’s best displays, but feel free to email [email protected] or fill out the submission form at the end to let us know if we’re missing a great show. You can also visit the California Christmas Lights website to find details about displays in your hometown and throughout Northern California.

Unless otherwise indicated, you can visit most of these displays nightly, after sundown and at no cost. Be prepared to wear masks and practice social distancing.

Deacon Dave’s world-famous display

The Christmas display at Dave Rezendes’ Casa del Pomba at 352 Hillcrest Drive has been showcased on cable and international TV, with HGTV once ranking it as one of the largest home displays in America. Every year — save for 2020 — Rezendes invites the community to walk through his display, which in 2019 featured more than 600,000 lights, a poinsettia theme and a proposal bridge, where dozens of marriage proposals have taken place over the years.

When and where: Nightly Dec. 3-Jan 1, starting with an opening night procession at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 3, at 352 Hillcrest Drive in Livermore; http://casadelpomba.com.

Christmas in the Park, San Jose

The beloved San Jose tradition will feature not one, but two locations this year. The popular walk-through display is returning to downtown’s Plaza de Cesar Chavez with a 65-foot tree that visitors can stroll through. Christmas in the Park also is hosting Blinky’s Illuminated Holiday, a separate drive-through event featuring more than 200,000 lights at Lake Cunningham Park, near Raging Waters.

When and where: Christmas in the Park starts with the tree lighting at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 26, and runs from noon to midnight daily through Jan. 2. 194 South Market Street between San Carlos and East San Fernando streets. Admission is free.

The drive-through Blinky’s show takes place nightly from 5 to 11 p.m. Nov. 26-Jan 9. Admission is $30 per car, and $75 for VIP tickets, which provides a Christmas “swag” bag and entry at the front of the line for every 30-minute slot. Book tickets at www.sanjose.org/events/christmas-park-2021.

Alex Dourov’s Knottingham Circle extravaganza

The show by the founder of the California Christmas Lights website offers a mix of old-school decorations that he’s accumulated over the past 30 years and high-tech light-and-sound effects. For 2021, Dourov is bringing back his interactive snow machine and other displays he didn’t use last year due to public health concerns. As always, kids are invited to make calls to Santa, and guests can listen to music from the sidewalk or on 107.9 FM from their car.

When and where: 5 to 10 p.m. from Nov. 27 through the end of the year at 467 Knottingham Circle in Livermore, http://californiachristmaslights.com.

Oakland Zoolights “Glowfari”

The Oakland Zoo has always hosted one of the Bay Area’s most unusual holiday displays. This year, the zoo reprises the amazing “Glowfari” show it premiered last year. The show features gorgeous, detailed, larger-than-life animal lanterns arrayed around the zoo’s 525 acres. On a crisp winter night, families — or couples on dates — can stroll around the zoo and meet magnificent, glowing elephants, giraffes and even a 15-foot-tall penguin.

When and where: Open from 5 to 10 p.m. most nights through Jan. 30 (closed for Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Day and some January dates.) Admission is $20-$24. Check www.oaklandzoo.org for details and reservations.

Historic estate lights in Woodside

Woodside’s century-old Filoli estate will open its stately mansion to visitors once more, with more than 20 elaborately decorated trees set up in the grand dining room and other elegantly appointed spaces. What’s especially magical about Filoli are the lights arrayed around the extensive garden, including a yew tree rainbow, twinkling against the backdrop of a setting winter sun. Santa also is back on weekends and available for selfies. Visitors can pause their tour to enjoy some mulled wine or hot whiskey cider served in the Woodland Garden Court.

When and where: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily through Jan. 2 at 86 Cañada Road, Woodside. Filoli will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Admission is $15-$38; https://filoli.org.

Crippsmas Place

“Yes, Virginia, there will be a Crippsmas Place this year!” say the organizers of this unique and cheerful neighborhood representation of community solidarity and goodwill. For nearly 60 years, residents of the 70 homes in this north Fremont neighborhood have illuminated their front yards, raised larger-than-life plywood cutouts of favorite cartoon characters and used their displays to raise money for worthy causes.

People from outside the neighborhood are encouraged to walk or drive in, and everyone can donate either in person or online to six organizations, including the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and local groups that support families, foster children, wildlife and breast cancer support services.

When and where: 6 to 10 p.m. from Dec. 11 to Dec. 25 on Nicolet Avenue, Cripps Place and surrounding streets in Fremont; www.crippsmasplace.org.

Lights in the Cacti in Walnut Creek

During “Garden of d’Lights,” visitors can meander along the paths of the 3.5-acre garden, where its world-famous collection of gorgeous cacti and other succulents and drought-tolerant plants are presented with fantastical and specially-programmed lasers and thousands of LED lights.

When and where: 5:30, 6:30 and 7:30 p.m. on Thursday through Sunday evenings through Dec. 23 at 1552 Bancroft Road, Walnut Creek. Tickets are $8-$24 and must be purchased ahead; www.ruthbancroftgarden.org/lights2020.

History Park’s Heritage Holiday Light Show

For years, the Mattos family of San Jose has created a winter wonderland in their apricot orchard. For 2021, the show has moved to History Park, with the family donating its lights for the park’s “Deck the Halls” show, which features lights projected onto the front of the Pacific Hotel. Guests also can browse for holiday crafts, do scavenger hunts, play lawn games and pick up snacks and treats at food trucks or at O’Brien’s Ice Cream and Candy Shop.

When and where: 6, 7 and 8 p.m. Friday through Sunday through Jan. 2 (shows not presented on Dec. 24, 25 and 31). History Park is located at the south end of Kelley Park at the corner of Senter Road and Phelan Avenue. Admission is $5-$10, https://historysanjose.org.

J.R. Mattos’s new, amazing home show

J.R. Mattos is the South Bay holiday lights aficionado who helped devise his family’s long-popular Orchard Lights display and who is the creative force behind this year’s displays in San Jose’s History Park and Christmas in the Park (above). But Mattos also invites people to check out the lights show he is arranging along the private lane leading to his Morgan Hill home.

When and where: 5 to 10 p.m., possibly starting as early as Friday, Nov. 26, but definitely by Dec. 4 and continuing through Jan. 8. 17271 James Lex Lane, Morgan Hill.

Widmer World, Pleasanton

The Widmer family of Pleasanton also canceled its popular home display in 2020. But the family’s show is returning in 2021 for its 20th year, with their “big tree” of red and green lights in front, their giant “Peace on Earth” sign and their tunnel of decorated trees, displays of popular cartoon characters and elaborate arrangements of life-sized Santas, reindeer and snowpeople.

When and where: 6 to 9 p.m. nightly, Dec. 1-Jan. 5 at 3671 Chelsea Court, Pleasanton; http://widmer-world.com.

Los Gatos’ Fantasy of Lights

The popular walk-through for this beloved light show at Vasona Lake County Park has already sold out. But families can still book reservations to enjoy the 1.5-mile drive-through option, which invites them to cruise through a fantasy land with lights, animated figures and a 90-foot twinkling tree. The show comes courtesy of the Santa Clara County Parks Department.

When and where: From 6 to 10 p.m. nightly from Dec. 7 to 30 (closed Dec. 25). The route starts at 333 Blossom Hill Road in Los Gatos. Admission is $20 per vehicle, or $50 for an oversized vehicle. Find more information about reservations, which must be made in advance, at the parks department website, www.parkhere.org.

Christmas Tree Lane, Alameda

Alameda’s Christmas Tree Lane, a co-operative effort put on by more than 50 households, returns this holiday season. Local groups will be back to perform, and kids can drop off letters to Santa in a specially designated mailbox that routes them to the North Pole.

When and where: Nightly from Dec. 4 through New Year’s Day, 3200 block Thomson Avenue, between High Street and Fernside Boulevard, Alameda; www.facebook.com/christmastreelane.