The Glendale Star
November 25, 2021
FEATURES
21
Illuminating family time during the holidays BY ANNIKA TOMLIN Glendale Star Staff Writer
World of Illumination returns with its new theme, Candy Rush, and a gingerbread village. Treats as far as the eye can see will be awash in millions of lights along the 1-mile drive-thru animated light show. “Everybody loves candy,” said Sara Klick, director of guest relations and marketing for World of Illumination. “We try to find different themes for all of our shows and candy just fit in naturally with our holiday theme and it’s something that the entire family can enjoy.” World of Illumination’s mission is to generate memorable, innovative entertainment through its drive-thru audiovisual immersive experiences. Its work pairs creativity with technology and establishes deep, supportive connections with communities nationwide. “The previous year in Glendale, we had Rockin’ Christmas,” Klick said about the organization that has been running since 2016. “Candy Rush was over in Georgia, and it sold out last year. We are really excited to bring it to Arizona this year.” Each show theme corresponds with music that helps set the mood, according to Klick, who cites that as her favorite part. “The one thing that is consistent is all of the animated lights are bright and beautiful and there are millions of them in each show,” Klick said. “There are some classic holiday favorites (being played) but we also put in some contemporary music as well. “It’s like the lights are kind of dancing along to the song and that is really cool to see.” World of Illumination is quickly becom-
EVANS FROM PAGE 20
rona,” Dexys Midnight Runners’ Irishtinged rouser “Come on Eileen” and the Pretenders’ bouncy “Don’t Get Me Wrong.” The diversity of “Copy That” sends a very intentional message. “I want people to realize that I’m so much more than just the country genre. And like when Spotify does like playlists concerning me, I don’t want to just be associated with Carrie Underwood or Luke Bryan or the current country,” Evans said. “I want to be known as
ing a holiday staple around the Valley, including its Tempe location themed around Reindeer Road and Santa’s workshop. Putting the theme together is not an easy task. “Once (a theme) is fully designed, it’s about eight months to actually produce all of the displays, put all of the lights in and program everything,” Klick said. “The building process itself is about four weeks like actually putting all of the props up.” Klick said one of the hardest parts of the entire process is “just the testing” of the equipment. “As you know, technical issues happen,” Klick said. “There are lots of lights and lots of moving parts, so there is a whole team of people who make sure that the lights are working as planned and everything is synchronized with the music.” The drive-thru event requires minimal contact with the World of Illumination crew. However, a no-touch option is available for people who are staying cautious because of COVID-19. “We do offer to have totally touchless experience,” Klick said. “If the guest would prefer that, they can print their ticket and just hold it up to their window and our greeters can actually scan their ticket through their car window. They don’t have to interact with any of our crew if they don’t want to.”
World of Illumination: Candy Rush
WHEN: 6 to 10 p.m. through Jan. 2 WHERE: Desert Diamond Casino, 9431 W. Northern Avenue, Glendale COST: $39.99 to $49.99 per vehicle INFO: worldofillumination.com
an amazing singer and producer and musician, and not just Sara Evans, the country singer. “I want people to go ‘Oh-my-God, I’ve never heard Sara Evans sing this kind of music or sing this way,” she added. “I want them to think that I’m an even better singer than they thought I was because I am singing better now than I ever sang, and I’m challenging myself, and I hope that shows through when you listen to it. But I did some really hard stuff on this record.” Evans has started to filter some songs
(Above) Millions of lights are synchronized to holiday music as guests admire it along the 1-mile path. (Below) The theme for the Glendale World of Illumination show is Candy Rush. (Photo courtesy of World of Illumination)
from “Copy That” into her concerts. Of course, with a catalog that includes 20 charting singles, including five No. 1 country hits (“Born to Fly,” “Suds in the Bucket,” “No Place That Far,” “A Real Fine Place To Start” and “A Little Bit Stronger”) that during the early- to mid- 2000s put her in the front ranks of the country scene, she has plenty of song choices for her shows. “It’s definitely a good 90 minutes, no question, sometimes longer because I like to talk a lot to my audience,” Evans said. “Yeah, basically it’s all the
hits — really even not all the hits — we don’t play everything.”
Sara Evans Blue Christmas Tour WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 27 WHERE: The Vista Center for the Arts, 15660 N. Parkview Place, Surprise COST: Tickets start at $55 INFO: 623-523-8888, info@thevistaaz.com
