Gaithersburg Winter Lights Festival Kicks Off December 4

ANNAPOLIS, MD (November 23, 2009) — Seneca Creek State Park will once again be the host site for the Gaithersburg Winter Lights Festival. The show will be held December 4 through January 2, 2010 and features more than 380 illuminated vignettes and 65 animated displays in a 3.5 mile drive through the park. Theme areas include Winter Woods, Teddy Bar Land, Victorian Village, North Pole, Toyland and Penguin Cove.

The festival is open 6 – 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 6 – 10 p.m. Friday through Saturday and costs $12 per car Sunday – Thursday, $14 per car Friday - Saturday, $20 per limousine, $30 per van and $60 per bus.

All proceeds from will benefit the Dolores Swoyer Camp Scholarship Fund, Friends of Seneca Creek State Park, Gaithersburg HELP and Shady Grove Adventist Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

The 2009 Gaithersburg Winter Lights Festival is sponsored by Comcast, The Gazette, Hughes Network Systems, Lake Forest Shopping Center, MedImmune, Mix 107.3, Montgomery Life Magazine, OBA Bank, Washington Parent Magazine and Washingtonian Center.

Seneca Creek State Park is located in Montgomery County. From Washington, D.C, Virginia and points south, take I-270 north towards Frederick, Maryland. Take Exit 10, Clopper Road (Route 117). Turn right at the light at the bottom of the ramp. The park is approximately 2 miles on the left. From points north, take I-270 south towards Washington, D.C., take Exit 11 (MD Route 124 west). Turn right at the light at the bottom of the ramp. At the second light, turn right onto Clopper Road (Route 117). The park is approximately 1.5 miles on the left.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, is the state agency responsible for providing natural and living resource-related services to citizens and visitors. DNR manages more than 461,000 acres of public lands and 17,000 miles of waterways, along with Maryland's forests, fisheries, and wildlife for maximum environmental, economic and quality of life benefits. A national leader in land conservation, DNR-managed parks and natural, historic, and cultural resources attract 12 million visitors annually. DNR is the lead agency in Maryland's effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay, the state's number one environmental priority. Learn more at www.dnr.maryland.gov