Gulfport Harbor Lights: Best Holiday Light Display in the South!

Photo by Shad Bookout

I have now seen the second best holiday lights display of my life. Nothing beats the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney's Hollywood Studios, but the Gulfport Harbor Lights Winter Festival at Jones Park is my second favorite. 

This massive holiday lights display, which takes up more than a city block near the water, is unlike anything I have ever seen. This year's underwater theme sported huge displays of oysters, octopuses, crabs and other sea life. The beautiful ferris wheel at the center of all the action is very popular - as is all the fair-type food such as funnel cake.

But the centerpiece of this holiday light display is the 15 or so dancing and singing Christmas trees. Seriously, I don't know how the City of Gulfport pulled off this technologically-advanced and stunning feat, but you can watch a variety of Christmas pictures and designs displayed on these trees to the timing of a variety of Christmas songs. A set of bleachers allow you to sit there as long as you want - always with a different song and light display. 

The "dancing Christmas trees" and other fantastic attractions at the Gulfport Harbor Lights Winter Festival were made possible by a $2.5 million donation from Island View Resort and Casino, right next to Jones Park. "It is the largest light show in the state of Mississippi and maybe beyond," said Cathy Beeding, vice president and general counsel of Island View.