The famed “Festival of Lights” returned to Riverside for the Christmas season for the first time since 2019.“The Festival of Lights has been a joyous occasion for Riverside families for three decades,” Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson said. “It is gratifying to see that Riversiders will once again be able to gather together for the switch-on ceremony,” which was held Friday, Nov. 25.Switch-on events were rescinded in November 2020 and November 2021. The 2020 event was prohibited by state regulations on public gatherings because of COVID, and the Riverside City Council decided to forgo the 2021 switch-on as a precautionary measure.The ceremonies often draw up to 75,000 people outside the Mission Inn, where streets are closed and a fireworks extravaganza takes place.“
