ATTLEBORO, Mass. – For 54 years families have been able to count on more than department store Santas and after-Thanksgiving sales to get their Christmas season started.
Thanks to the generous and artful work of the priests, brothers, staff and volunteers at the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette, visitors have been able to celebrate the Advent and Christmas seasons since 1953 with a trip to the shrine's annual festival of lights.
This year, the lights are back, and the festival is better than ever.
"We add on more lights every year, as much as we can afford," said La Salette Brother Bob Russell, the director of the shrine. This year that means that 30,000 individual lights will brighten the sky above Attleboro every night until January 1 from 5-9 p.m.
But the changes this year are to more than the bulb count. Many lights were replaced with lower-cost and lower-energy LED bulbs. Brother Russell is working to make his Christmas display "green," or environmentally-friendly, as fervently as others are hoping for a white Christmas.
The La Salette tradition, which started with just 5,000 lights, has grown into the largest lights display in New England, said Brother Russell.
The festival of lights will also feature a trolley this year, for just a few dollars visitors can take a guided tour of the 1.4 mile festival of lights loop narrated by Brother Russell. There are also stands where visitors can buy hot chocolate and hot cider and can even purchase a glowing La Salette souvenir mug or holiday 3-D glasses that give the lights a whole new look.
Visitors come from Maine to Pennsylvania in cars, trucks and chartered buses to enjoy the holiday season at La Salette. Part of the draw, Brother Russell says, is the tradition. "This is very, very traditional," he said. "We get away from the culture today, it's just not focused on the Lord."
This year's theme, "Love is Born," was selected by Brother Russell to remind people about the true meaning of the season. "It should be Christmas all year long," he said "[The festival] is bringing people back to Christ."
The biggest change long-time visitors to La Salette will notice is the new welcome center. Finished just in time for opening night of the festival, the center houses a theater and concert hall for the many religious events, concerts and shows the shrine puts on throughout the year, and a bistro and gift shop, as well as some offices for the shrine's clergy and staff.
Brother Russell expects to have even more visitors this year than last year. "We don't charge admission, we don't charge for parking, we rely on donations," he said.
This year's festival also features a brand new manger display that is blessed every evening before the lights are turned on at 5 p.m. Brother Russell said that the during the ceremony a staff member usually tries to pick out a child from the audience to help.
Many visitors also come to La Salette for the frequent concerts the shrine hosts during the festival of lights. Sixty of those concerts will feature La Salette Father Andre Patenaude, or "Father Pat", whose musical ministry has earned him much renown. Local bands and choirs will also be featured in concerts throughout the season.
Whether there for the lights, the music or nightly Mass, Christmastime at La Salette Shrine is sure to delight visitors of any age.
National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette
947 Park Street, Attleboro, MA
(508) 222-5410
www.lasalette-shrine.org
Festival of Lights
Open nightly through January 1, from 5-9 p.m.
Admission and parking are free, guided trolley tours are available.
