Holiday Lights Drive-Thru returns to Medina County Fairgrounds with new displays

Once again, Medina County residents and visitors will have the opportunity to celebrate the holiday season by driving through the Medina County Fairgrounds to enjoy a variety of festive light displays.

Co-coordinator Chris Miletti said the annual Drive-Thru Holiday Lights show was the brainchild of Barb Nixon, who served as a member of the Medina County Fair Board for 29 years. Nixon died in 2022 at age 79.

Miletti said this year’s event will feature a mix of returning displays and several new additions.

“We have some new displays coming,” she said. “We have roller coasters and a Ferris wheel, and we have three or four new displays, and we’re completing our first responders displays. We have a fire truck. We have an EMS. Now we’re going to have a police car.”

Longtime favorites returning this year include displays featuring characters from the “Peanuts” franchise, as well as characters from “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” Disney films and other themes that appeal to children and families.

“The ‘Farmer in the Dell’ one took me forever to realize that’s what it was,” Miletti said with a laugh. “You’d think I would have caught on to it, but I didn’t, with the fair and farmers and everything.”

Miletti said preparation for the Drive-Thru Holiday Lights show typically begins in September and October. The event is organized by 10 directors and more than 20 additional volunteers. Some volunteers are members of the Junior Fair Board, who dress up as various characters on certain nights and collect money from visitors driving through.

This year, reindeer from Spring Mist Farms will also be at the fairgrounds on Dec. 19 and Dec. 22.

The light show typically draws about 4,000 people each year. Miletti said the event remains a simple, joyful way to celebrate the season.

“We always want people to be in the holiday spirit,” she said. “They can come and see something that they can enjoy that’s inexpensive, and they can have a nice family night out just looking at lights and enjoying the holiday cheer.”

The fairgrounds, located at 720 West Smith Road, will be open Nov. 28-30, Dec. 5-7, Dec. 12-14 and Dec. 19-28. Shows run from 6 to 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays and 6 to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Admission is $10 for cars, $30 for 15-passenger vans and small buses, and $70 for large buses. Cash or checks will be accepted.

More information is available at medinaohiofair.com/holiday-lights.