FORSYTH COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — The Tanglewood Park Festival of Lights is back in Clemmons for the 33rd year in a row.
Marketing and Events Manager of Forsyth County Parks and Recreation Drew Wiles says this five-mile attraction is a tradition for close to 300,000 visitors every year.
But with all the dazzling lights come a few headaches for drivers.
“We can have a lot of traffic out here … That’s something we’re very grateful for,” Wiles said.
Across the street from Tanglewood Park is the neighborhood River Oaks at Tanglewood. Neighbors like Amanda Worley say it can be a challenge just to get home.
“45 minutes to an hour. And I’m the one that really tries to wave my sign and really push. I’ve seen people that have waited an hour or two. But I don’t give and wait. There are officers around, so I just keep waving my sign and wait and let them know I’m here,” Worley said
Worley says she and her neighbors all received a sign to get through traffic, but it is still tough to navigate.
“Depends on the night. In this part of the season, we’re OK. In the later part of the season, you better plan on sitting in your car for a while,” Worley said.
So neighbors like Worley can get a heads up on traffic, people now have access to real-time traffic cameras within Tanglewood Park so you can know how bad traffic is before you hit the road.
Two camera angles are provided by TrueLook Construction Cameras that you can choose to see just how crowded it is.
“The first one is at our four-way intersection right when you come into the park. That’s towards the main entrance out to the highway, and you’ll only see traffic in this area if we’re having a busy night. If we’re not having a busy night, it’ll look bare … The other one is at our gift village, which is about two-thirds of the way through the show. This is a good way if you’re in line or you’re riding through the show. Do you want to stop in the gift village with the kids? Do you want to take the extra time? You can see what the traffic looks like over there and see what you and you’re family want to do,” Wiles said.
Wiles says the best nights to come are Monday through Thursday. This attraction is open from 6 p,m, to 11 p.m. for seven days a week until January 1.
