I've been coming here since I moved to AZ in 2014. I'm always impressed by how beautiful the lights are and the Christmas ornament photo op that was added this year made it even better. I always recommend stopping at this little attraction for anyone who loves the spirit of Christmas. read more

See all

It was cute and quaint. I don't know that I would drive out of my way for it, but it was a nice way to spend the evening.

We have been to Glendale glitters several times over the years. We returned this year to take my mother and could not believe how awful it was. There were no vendors there anywhere. Everything was food related. All the shops around Glendale glitters have close down. Even bitsy mama's which has been there for ever had to close down half of their restaurant. Glendale sucks read more

This was very disappointing. The food trucks were almost exclusively carnie style. Bounce houses at the major intersections blocked views. The entertainment consisted of dance troops, not live music. Featuring local food carts and restaurants is a minimum. read more

I brought my grandson and he was in AWE , great place to go it's a must see at this time of year , you know a lot of work went into this Avent read more

Are there any vendors there on the weekends? A few of us came last night on Wednesday and there wasn't any vendors there & we loved the beautiful lights, but was disappointed that there were no vendors. read more

I do not think it was worth the drive there were not many light all but the lights wrapped around the trees but it was not to bad I expected more from it maybe I will come back next year hopefully it will be better then this year. read more

great fun and it is free. concert at night lots cute shops

No vendors on a Saturday I'm confused as to what we're expected to enjoy if there was just lights and no vendors of any kind it's Saturday come on ?! read more

First time going here since we moved to Arizona. Glad we found free parking about 4 blocks away. If we would've paid we would've been pissed. So crowded you couldn't even move. So many vendors the lights in the trees were not noticeable and did not stand out. We didn't even bother paying the over priced food charges. Seriously Chase Field is less expensive for food. There was no flow, no order to the place. I could not imagine trying to navigate this insanity with young kids or dogs. Shortly after getting there we were ready to leave. We will not be heading back into this nonsense again. read more

Been waiting to go to Glendale glitters for years. Finally got great grandkids and friends to go last night. What a disappointment. All I can say is I didn't lose a thing in Glendale and Glendale glitters sucked. Would not recommend this to anyone. It was a non event night and that was true. All the kids did was run in the park. The lights weren't even that great. read more

What a waste of time. We came on the last day, the Glendale Glitters "and Glow". This reminded me of a carnival but without the rides. The crowds were horrific, parking sucked, and there were lots of disgusting, fried food eateries and cheap vendors lining the park. My husband, 15 mo old son and I got some kettle corn and quickly left. read more

I think it's time for new management in Glendale. I thought with the Casino coming here that we would finally begun to step it up in Glendale. Glitters is going down the tubes. Could be run better. Make it glitter the whole month, just not first weekend. Help step up the local businesses so that they can spruce up their stores. The mayor needs to go. He makes the calls. In this sooo called booming economy why isn't he doing something ?? I thought the city of glendale was getting money from the casino for a few years to help balance the budget?? Well where is the money?? Pay raises maybe for council people??? read more

Went on a Sunday. Horrible. NO restroom facilities NONE. Very few restaurants open. Antique shops don't let anyone use the restrooms. Subway would not even allow paying customers to use them. Even the ice cream shop was closed. People were selling things out of coolers. Finally found a pizza place to use restroom if we got pizza. Wished we hadn't. Wonder if the workers were using same restroom. Big fail Glendale. Would not take out of town guests here! read more

Wow, this really took a nosedive in 2016! Not as many lights, many trees not even decorated, too many spotlights lighting up everything else so the tree lights no longer stand out, very bad layout, crowding the movie area to a lit section that only seated about 40 people right in the middle of all the food truck lines & noise (this used to be on a darker side street where there was less foot traffic & seated many more people)....also limited walkways, had so much gated off where you could no longer walk around freely & they make everyone take the same paths now, making it difficult to navigate. Could not believe this was the same venue I've been attending the past 20+ years! Will definitely find something different in the future....so disappointing this year. read more

Made the mistake of coming on opening night. It was so crowded we could hardly walk. They really should charge admission to this or make the area bigger for people to congregate. In all honesty, I wasn't impressed with the lights either. Really not that spectacular, especially with all the portable spot lights blaring down everywhere. Took away from the effect. It was nice they did a free shuttle bus from the college to downtown. Parking was pretty hassle free with this service. I don't recommend this event given the vast crowds of people. It was not peaceful or enjoyable. read more

GLENDALE IMPRESSES AGAIN! I am disappointed by comments made here and in recent news articles about the changes to the 2017 Glendale Glitters. I was there last night, Saturday December 9, 2017 and found this year's layout to be just what was needed to bring the focus back to what it was intended to be - a display of lights. The reduction of the # of vendors allowed for more walking space and spreading the venue out to side streets drew people to the local merchants (those who were open). Several people have commented that the lights were lacking. The lights have not changed you are just not packed in like sardines underneath them. Reviews from previous years comment about how difficult it was to move around and that's the main reason my family hasn't attended for several years. I would be happy to see zero vendors or a return to the arts and crafts type sellers from years ago. I do think the cost for the bounce houses and $10 to park in the city parking garage are too steep. Finally, for those complaining about the "stage shows" the performers are dance, school or church groups who reserve the amphitheater, they aren't put on by the city. This year the lights were allowed to be the main attraction ....which is the point. Glitters isn't the State Fair, it isn't about buying cheap light up toys, it's a FREE local light display. read more

So terrible. Insanely packed and so many venders that ruin the experience. Get rid of the venders have a few hot cocoa stands and let people enjoy the Christmas lights without being distracted by venders and bounce houses. I had to focus the whole night on how to walk through the ridiculous crowd! read more

My family and I went on opening night this year for our first visit. I don't know if there are better days to go, but it was terrible that night. It was so crowded in the main area where most of the lights were that we could barely move. We were swept away in a sea of people, and it was a very claustrophobic feeling. There were so many smokers lighting up as they walked right in front of us, and the cigarette smoke choked us. My son wanted to try some of the kiddie attractions, but we could not even see where the lines were. Just more crowds of people all close together, not in any sort of a cohesive line. I'm SO glad we ate before we got there, because the lines for the food vendors were insanely long. There were a few restaurants open, but they looked to be full as well. We were able to shop at the stores on the side streets, away from the main area. They have some nice things, but I'd much rather go to those shops when it's not busy. Bottom line- It was crowded, not fun, and we don't plan on going to Glendale Glitters again. read more

Went to watch my niece dance. It was so busy!! The port-a-potties were so smelly and the lines for them were outrageous. Having a young toddler, it gave me anxiety trying to keep an eye on him with all the people and traffic nearby. Food was really expensive. Saw protesters with inappropriate signs that I didn't want my kids to be reading. When you have other places in the valley to choose, I would go somewhere else next year. read more

This was an okay event. The lights were indeed beautiful. Wish there was more diversity of vendors instead of the overabundance of food vendors. Food is great but this is an opportunity for people to buy local made gifts for people this holiday season. Parking was atrocious but I came earlier to avoid the struggle and found free parking nearby. Overall it was a decent event, free and definitely family friendly. read more

I didn't think it was worth the drive. There weren't that many lights. We couldn't believe how few after all the hype we read about online.

Pretty lame. Nothing but a bunch of vendors. Stupid stuff like Dish tv or car rentals. The kids didn't even really enjoy it. Nothing like it used to be. Just completely commercialized. :( read more

Glendale used to have the best Jazz/Blues free concert in AZ, where I saw Brian Auger, Larry Coryell, etc and a few years ago they canceled it. Now they scaled back the Glitters, and it not nearly as nice as before. They used to be out in front of Phx, Scottsdale and all the other towns in AZ - not so anymore, what happened? read more

Amazing! ! We came to Glendale Glitters last year just my husband and I. we now make it an annual tradition brining our grandchildren, as there are a ton of activities for the kids. lots of fun. read more

It was so much fun lots of attractions, but I wish the vendors were more spread out. It felt as if the lines were within the walkways. Lots of people had strollers, so it felt very crowded with traffic. But then again, this was on a Friday night. Overall we had a really good time. read more

This is my second time coming here when the lights are up. The first time was at the end of the year a few years back so it was dead with no vendors and a little bit of lights to see. Today it was super packed with people! I loved it!! So many lights everywhere! They sell funnel cakes, do face painting, sell hot cocoa, have pony rides, can feed farm animals etc!! read more

Glendale Glitters - Wood roses!! Super cheap too! $8 for a dozen - Festivals Near Me - Glendale, Arizona

Non-existent traffic control, horrible signage, and no idea how to get to the "free parking for the disabled" garage are some of the highlights of this rapidly degenerating event. Once we finally did manage to park a mile away, visibility of the advertised lighting was obliterated by overcrowding, harsh high wattage flood lighting for "pay per ride" carny rides, and horrible food. This is our last year going; Glendale's cash cow and disregard for the disabled has lost us for good. read more

Wow. Jam packed with a bunch of smelly people and kids running around. Too packed to do anything. Basically walked in a circle trying to avoid crowds. Lights sucked. Long lines. read more

We were so excited to see "The largest light display in Phoenix". Described as 16 city blocks of grand LED lit trees..... WTH... seriously a HUGE dissapointment. There were so many vendors with generator lights that the lights themselves were hardly "glittering". read more

We went to Glendale Glitters on a Tuesday night and didn't run into any of the problems others did with vendors and huge crowds. We grabbed a pizza at the pizza place right there, then walked around looking at the lights. It was a very nice, mellow evening - not the mess others have run into. Great family activity. read more

I went last night for the first time and it was a nice evening--viewing Christmas lights, visiting some shops with interesting and moderately-priced gift items, and mingling with a pleasant crowd of people. My friend, who likes shopping far more than I do, headed off on her own & we agreed to meet at a certain time at Shelley's Bakery, a nice little place near the spot where we entered the FREE event. I enjoyed coffee and a book that I had purchased earlier, then we met & returned to the FREE parking lot at the college via the FREE and very comfortable shuttle bus. The whole thing, including the bus was well organized & the bus driver (who said he was from Michigan & wearing a UM sweatshirt) was very nice & entertaining on the ride back. read more

Don't bother on the first night. O.M.G. Wall to wall people, no craft booths anymore, but hey, there's a both so you can sign up for Cox, or a timeshare! Only thing that saved this night is that we were with good friends! In general , to be fair, I'm generally put off by downtown Glendale. To many signs indicating that customers are a pain in the ass. Pratts Pets is worth it, and there's a great comic book store, but other than that, it's a bunch of antique shops with no idea how to treat customers. read more

What a joke! We drove all the way from Gilbert to see the spectacular lights. When we arrived around 6:15 the lights weren't on and everyone was wandering through the park trying to figure out what was going on. We started walking down the street when the park finally lit up around 6:45. YAWN. Oh, a few of the trees were amazing but the majority were just so-so. Someone told us that all the trees downtown Glendale were lit along the street. When we left the street was still not lit. What a big disappointment. It would have helped had many of the stores been open, but alas, only a few scant ones were open. There was no hot chocolate or coffee vendors and only two glow stick sellers in the park. Definitely not worth the trip. Needs lots of improvements before we will return, if ever. read more

This use to be such a nice place to come to and walk around, see the lights and listen to the carolers. Now it is such a crowded mess. To many vendors and rides. They ruined a good thing. Will never go back. read more