Fred Loya Christmas lights: Catch the show this holiday season

Nov. 30--The home of insurance company owner Fred Loya beamed bright on Paseo de Oro on Friday night, signaling the start of one of the newest holiday traditions in El Paso.

This time around though, the Loya Christmas Light show will not burn as long as they have the last eight years.

"Before we would go through New Year's Eve, this year we are only going through Christmas Day," Loya emphasized.

The schedule change came after event organizers noticed a significant drop-off in attendance following Christmas.

Despite the shorter running time, Loya said he still expects the Christmas light show to draw large crowds.

"It's a show for all ages and people of all incomes," Loya added. "It's free. It's safe. And it's entertaining."

The weekend shows will be held at 6, 7 and 8 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. They will be eight minutes and 40 seconds long.

In between shows, there will be hot chocolate, cookies, a Santa Claus and -- a new addition -- snow machines.

More than 300,000 lights will illuminate 12001 Paseo de Oro this holiday season.

In 2011, Loya faced some opposition about the use of searchlights that shined on the neighborhood -- lights that will be on display this year.

Loya said he found it ironic that two years ago, the complaints were coming from people that weren't even part of the neighborhood. He added that those who still have objections are a "miniscule minority" and will have no effect on the display of lights.

Barbara Lopez, executive administrative assistant at Fred Loya Insurance, said it's been hard to pinpoint crowd estimations but she expects at least 10,000 attendees this year.

"Sometimes there's not a square inch of space," Lopez said.

To that end, Lopez said people planning to attend this year's light show should try to get there early. CrossPoint Church, which has offered its parking lot for the event, is currently doing some construction, which will limit availability.

Parking space will be available at Montwood High School. Police will be on hand to manage the flow of pedestrian and motor traffic. The event is free to the public. For more information on the Fred Loya Christmas lights call 629-5111.

Luis Carlos Lopez may be reached at 546-6381.

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