RIVERSIDE (CNS) - The ``Festival of Lights'' will return to downtown Riverside Friday, Nov. 27 and remain for the duration of the Christmas season, but with much less luster than in previous years.
``The Festival of Lights is a much-loved Riverside tradition,'' Mayor Rusty Bailey said when officials decided in the summer to restrict activities. ``I look forward to a time when we can gather together again as a community to celebrate the holidays in this special way, but we have to make responsible decisions, even when they are difficult.''
The Riverside City Council voted in August to limit city funding for the six-week event to $60,000. It has generally received between $378,000 and $825,000 in previous years.
Mission Inn Hotel & Spa owner Duane Roberts began the Festival of Lights
