‘Extraordinary’ lights festival opens tonight in Mississauga

A renowned lights festival billed as the biggest of its kind “in the world” opens to the public tonight (Sept. 14) in Mississauga.

The highly-anticipated Illumi–A Dazzling World of Lights attraction, scheduled to come to Mississauga on several occasions since last year, will finally welcome its first customers.

Billed as the “largest light, sound and multimedia show in the world,” the attraction has set up on a 600,000-sq.-ft. site near Hurontario St. and Hwy. 407. That’s the equivalent in size of 10 football fields, a spokesperson for Montreal-based Illumi said.

Located at 7174 Derrycrest Dr., the festival of lights will remain open to the public through Jan. 8.

“The extraordinary light show is the first of its kind in the Toronto market and the largest light, sound and multimedia show in the world,” a spokesperson for the attraction wrote in an email to insauga.com.

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 say.

Various “universes” visitors to the festival of lights will experience. (Image: Illumi)

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.

“Visitors to Illumi will be transported around the world with unique, grandiose and enchanting settings brought to life through never-before-seen installations, imagery, breathtaking sceneries and technological displays spread throughout the massive site,” the spokesperson added.

The attraction features seasonal theme changes as well, from Halloween to the Christmas holidays.

Last month, 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 throughout the attraction’s stay in Mississauga.

Tickets (before tax) to September shows are $7.48 for children aged 3-12, $8.98 for seniors and $9.98 for those aged 13 and up. Children 2 and under will be admitted free of charge.

The Illumi spokesperson noted that the huge lights show is from “the creative mind of Normand Latourelle,” creator and artistic director of the hit shows Cavalia and Odysseo, two of the largest touring productions in the world.

Latourelle has enjoyed a 45-year career in the performing arts space and was a pioneer of Cirque du Soleil from 1985 to 1990.