Holiday lights to convert the fabled horse track
Santa Anita Park, the Arcadia racetrack where thoroughbreds thunder past the grandstand, spends its autumns now beneath a different kind of spectacle: several million string lights arranged into a walk-through maze the size of a small municipality.
Enchant, the immersive holiday attraction, is returning for a second Los Angeles season, and this week announced the theme nights that will structure the enterprise—Country Christmas, Family Photo Night, Friendsgiving, a dog-friendly evening called Paws ‘n’ Claus—it’s like a cruise ship’s activities director got hold of “The Nutcracker.”
The maze itself has a new centerpiece this year, an installation called Starlight Flight, about which little has been disclosed beyond the fact that guests will walk through it. Enchant claims it’s the “world’s largest,” a claim that is either impressive or ominous, and the operation runs on a logic familiar to anyone who has bought a concert ticket in the last decade: there’s tiered access, presale windows, a “Golden Ticket” tier for the season’s most devoted, followed by an email-list presale, followed at last by the general public.
Friendsgiving, on November 25th, comes with a discounted cocktail served in a souvenir cup shaped like a lightbulb, timed to catch people already gathered for the holiday weekend and looking for something to do with the in-laws. Country Christmas, on December 4th, offers a line-dancing add-on, capacity limited, because apparently even boot-scootin’ now requires a reservation. As their press release reveals, part of Enchant’s appeal is that there isn’t just one way to experience it— ice skating and s’mores and a Ferris wheel and a Snow Globe Suite are among the add-ons layered atop general admission.
Opening night is November 20th. Bring your dog on the 6th. And bring your voice on December 2nd, for the sing-along.
More information is available at enchantchristmas.com.
