One of America’s largest holiday light shows, the Winter Festival of Lights at Oglebay in Wheeling, West Virginia, started converting to LEDs this year. The energy-saving LED lights will be used in all new displays including the Mountaineer Christmas Display, added to the show this year. The conversion of all existing displays to LED lights begins in 2008 and the entire show should be LED by 2012.

LED lights use 85% less energy than traditional bulbs and last five times longer, ensuring that the Festival of Lights will continue to glow for years to come.

Caren Knoyer, Marketing Director for the Oglebay Resort, said that in 1985, a holiday tradition began at Oglebay and spread throughout the city of Wheeling. That first year, five light displays and the landscape lighting covered about 125 acres over a three-mile drive throughout the resort. Since then, the show has grown into one of the nation's largest light shows, covering more than 300 acres over a six-mile drive throughout the resort. More than 70 larger-than-life light displays are now part of this glowing show and every year something new is added to keep the show fresh.

The second year’s show is the Gardens of Light. Knoyer said that the best way to enjoy the Gardens of Light is to take a stroll along the brick path that leads from Carriage House Glass to the Mansion Museum. The stroll allows visitors to take in the enchanting sights and sounds of the holidays including 150 hanging baskets of light plus thousands of lighted flowers, trees and shrubs, combined with distinctive holiday music.

The popular light and music extravaganza returns to the Good Zoo this year. The show takes place nightly on the zoo patio with more than 35,500 LED lights choreographed to exciting holiday music. The zoo at Oglebay will also have their annual holiday model train display at the state’s largest O-Gauge Model Train Exhibit and holiday laser shows at the zoo’s Benedum Planetarium.

The Winter Festival of Lights is viewable Sunday through Thursday until 10 pm and on Friday and Saturday until 11 pm.