Two Dazzling Le Mars, Iowa Holiday Light Displays
I have had a fun week reconnecting with dear friends and burning the midnight oil, but tonight I am reclined on the couch with our cat curled up in my lap and I can hardly keep my eyes open. So, in short, I will keep this short!!! 🤓😂😉
Last weekend, two friends and I explored Le Mars, Iowa and visited/viewed two fabulous, larger-than-life holiday light displays. At both places you can park your car and walk through the displays. The kids I observed seemed to especially love that! 😁
The first one we went to was called Christmas Acres and was about 10 minutes’ drive or about 7 miles outside of town on Highway 3 on Impala Avenue. This display was started in 1995 and is the biggest light display in the area. As it is out in the country on a gravel road, you should be very careful driving through it. There are thousands of lights, music, pedestrians, and cars going both directions in between the two displays. So…lots to look out for! If you are able, park the car out of the way and stroll through the displays and check out the barn for delicious, home-baked items. There is a free-will donation that goes to a local charity. It was very busy on a Saturday night about 8:00, so we chose to just drive through the displays. There is something fun to see everywhere you look! Great photo opportunities too! For additional information, check out the following two links and photos:
https://www.facebook.com/christmasacres?mibextid=qWsEUC
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/iowa/traditional-holiday-festival-ia/
After we saw Christmas Acres, we stopped at another huge light display on the edge of Le Mars on Highway 3 called Winter Wonderland. This display was more compact so we elected to get out and check things out on foot. There were hundreds of displays, many with popular characters. While we were exploring, someone came out of the house and I asked if he was the owner. He said he was and his name was Mark. He and his wife Shari put up the display every year and it takes them about two months to get things set up. I thanked him for all his work and he agreed to have his photo taken beside a giant inflatable Santa. How appropriate! This display is very walkable for young children as well as everyone else. Many photo ops abound here too! I asked a middle-school-aged boy to take our photo and he did an excellent job. Did I mention that Le Mars is full of friendly people? Go ahead and ask someone to take your photo! This is “Iowa Nice” at its best! For additional information, check out the following link:
https://iowaroadtrip.net/visit-the-winter-wonderland-in-lemars-iowa/
One of the owners, Mark Frerichs, poses next to one of his many displays. His wife, Shari, also sets up the displays. On the night we met him, Mark was headed out the door to fix a light display that wasn’t working - at 9:30 at night! That’s dedication!
In addition to these two giant displays, many houses and other locations in Le Mars have holiday lights and displays. Such a fun holiday town! See my two previous posts for more info!