As a Georgia girl with stomping grounds knocking on the backdoor of Pine Mountain, GA and living in the state until 5 years ago, I’m a little embarrassed to say that December 2021 was my first ever trip to Fantasy In Lights at Callaway Gardens. My baby sis popped into the area and said, “Let’s do this!” We said, “absolutely!”

Since its inception in 1992, Fantasy In Lights been hailed by locals as the place for a great holiday night out for surrounding cities/towns in the region. Greatest thing since sliced bread… yada. yada. yada … and I’d always wanted to go. Now that I’ve been, I’m generously giving it 3 stars. The roughly 7 mile drive through the grounds and lighting displays in your vehicle is a terrific idea and could really be something amazing. To their credit, many of the displays on site are brilliant, and the collection themes are creative. But quite a few items were burned out, and the displays were awkwardly spaced out. For me, it was a mediocre experience.

Next season Callaway will mark its 30th anniversary of the holiday event… after so many years, I absolutely expected more polish. Decent for a local’s night out; but wouldn’t go out of my way to specifically see it again.