Nelson Family Lights find a new home in Cashmere

CASHMERE — One of North Central Washington’s brightest holiday traditions has found a new home this year. The Nelson Family Christmas Lights, a longtime favorite last held in East Wenatchee, will now illuminate the old Cashmere Mill Site at 5431 Sunset Highway beginning Thursday, Nov. 27.

The move marks a new chapter for the family-run display, which has drawn thousands of visitors annually to see its elaborate synchronized lights, inflatables, and musical programming. Nick Nelson — affectionately dubbed “Saint Nick” by the community — has long turned his home and holiday season into a gift for others by presenting the free, exquisitely-choreographed light show each December.

The Nelson Family Lights ran at the family’s Sunnyslope home from 2014–2021, shifted to Annie’s Fun Farm in East Wenatchee for the 2022–2024 seasons (with 2024 cut short by a fire-marshal closure), and now the new Cashmere site offers expanded viewing space for both cars and pedestrians and keeps the tradition accessible to families throughout the valley.

The free light show runs nightly through Jan. 3, from 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and until 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Donations are welcome and go toward upkeep and future displays.

For families across the valley, the Nelson lights are more than just decoration — they’re part of the holiday rhythm. The show’s blend of classic carols and modern animations has become a marker of the season, as familiar as hot cider or the first snow on the foothills.

The new location, on the redeveloped Mill Site east of downtown Cashmere, sits at the junction of community memory and renewal. Once home to lumber operations and later the site of environmental cleanup and business revitalization, the grounds now offer a wide, open layout suited for visitors to drive through or park and stroll.

The annual display has long embodied a spirit of generosity and family effort, funded and assembled by the Nelsons themselves as a gift to the community. The Cashmere setting continues that tradition while drawing new life to an historic site now surrounded by small businesses and neighborhood traffic.

Visitors are encouraged to arrive early in the evening to avoid congestion and to bring a donation if they wish to support the lights’ continued operation.

The Nelson Family Christmas Lights will shine nightly from Thanksgiving weekend through the first days of the new year — a familiar beacon, now at home in Cashmere’s own heart.

Andrew Simpson: 509-433-7626 or andrew@ward.media