Mississauga’s festival of lights draws more than 50,000 visitors first two weeks

A renowned lights festival set up in Mississauga and billed as the biggest of its kind “in the world” has drawn tens of thousands of visitors since opening to the public on Sept. 14.

As of last Friday (Sept. 30), the highly-anticipated Illumi–A Dazzling World of Lights attraction had welcomed some 51,500 visitors to its massive north Mississauga site near Hurontario St. and Hwy. 407, according to Mississauga Ward 5 Councillor Carolyn Parrish.

Parrish, who’s been involved in the effort to bring the huge show to Mississauga since the beginning, posted to social media last Friday that the first two weeks were a big success.

“With admission prices equivalent to an evening at the movies, 51,500 visitors have been through this amazing festival of lights and music,” Parrish said on her Twitter post. “More than 37,000 of those folks were from outside Mississauga.”

Scheduled to come to Mississauga on several occasions since last year, the Illumi festival of lights finally opened in the city on Sept. 14. Located at 7174 Derrycrest Dr., the attraction will remain open to the public through Jan. 8.

Billed as the “largest light, sound and multimedia show in the world,” the attraction is set up on a 600,000-sq.-ft. site that’s equal in size to 10 football fields, a spokesperson for Montreal-based Illumi said.

“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 festival of lights wrote in an earlier email to insauga.com.

Illumi on Hurontario and Derry has officially been open two weeks today. With admission prices equivalent to an evening at the movies, 51,500 visitors have been through this amazing Festival of Lights and music. More than 37,000 of those folks were from outside Mississauga! pic.twitter.com/Pcyx4nYukX

— Mayor Carolyn Parrish (@carolynhparrish) September 30, 2022

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.

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.

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

In August, 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 and $2.50 service fee) cost $22.50 for children aged 3-12, $24.50 for seniors and $26.50 for those aged 13 and up. Children 2 and under are admitted free of charge.

Ticket prices are subject to change based on high demand.