Biggest lights festival of its kind ‘in the world’ opens in Mississauga next week

A renowned and biggest lights festival of its kind “in the world” that’s been scheduled to come to Mississauga on several occasions since last year is now just one week away from finally welcoming its first customers.

Billed as the “largest light, sound and multimedia show in the world,” Illumi–A Dazzling World of Lights has set up on a 600,000-sq.-ft. site near Hurontario St. and Hwy. 407, the equivalent in size of 10 football fields.

The festival of lights opens to the public on Sept. 14 and continues through Jan. 8.

Located at 7174 Derrycrest Dr., the attraction has held two job fairs in the last month to hire some 400 employees.

Featuring more than 20 million LED bulbs, the seasonal festive attraction is sure to captivate kids and adults alike “as they embark on a spectacular outdoor journey on foot through 13 magical worlds,” organizers with Montreal-based Illumi say.

Brought to life by “cutting-edge programming technologies, the immersive Illumi universe features high-definition projections, jaw-dropping state-of-the-art animatronic creatures (and) thousands of light structures” in addition to the millions of brilliant LED bulbs, creators of the attraction say.

Organizers promise visitors to the attraction “an epic and imaginative journey around the world.”

And it features seasonal theme changes as well, from Halloween to the Christmas holidays.

Several weeks ago, organizers unveiled the company’s hallmark installation, the Tree of Lights, at the Mississauga site.

Standing 154 feet tall, which is three feet taller than the Statue of Liberty, and made of 28,000 interactive luminous spheres, the Tree of Lights has been lit up each night since its unveiling and will continue to be up to and beyond the Sept. 14 opening of the attraction.

Ward 5 is home to the most exciting entertainment in Ontario! 13 football fields of outstanding displays. Looking forward to my first of many visits! https://t.co/GEnPg1iFmD

— Mayor Carolyn Parrish (@carolynhparrish) September 5, 2022