OWENSVILLE, Ohio — Though Coney Island is no more, its holiday light display that's gotten thousands of Cincinnatians in the holiday spirit year after year will live on.
The lights display, which will remain a drive-through experience, will return to a new home this holiday season: The Clermont County Fairgrounds.
The fairgrounds are located a bit further east than Coney Island was, on Locust Street near Owensville. But the lights display will continue a holiday tradition attended by thousands of people in the Tri-State region.
Cincinnati's Nights of Lights will twinkle for all to enjoy from Nov. 23 through Jan. 5 and will still feature more than two million lights synchronized to holiday music.
One difference between the Coney Island event and the one being held at the Clermont County Fairgrounds is its name: Instead of Coney Island's Nights of Lights, it's been simple branded "Cincinnati's Nights of Lights."
The park announced in 2023 that, effective at the end of last year, it would be permanently closing. The park was acquired by Music & Event Management Inc. (MEMI), which is a subsidiary of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO).
MEMI announced its plans for the space will be to instead build a "first-of-its-kind" music venue that will boast "cutting-edge performance and entertainment technology" alongside "best-in-class amenities."
Sunlite Pool does have a storied history, including serving as inspiration for many over the years — including Walt Disney himself. In 1925, Sunlite Pool opened and had since remained the world's largest recirculating pool.
Civil rights pioneer Marian Spencer, who died at the age of 99 in 2019, also fought to integrate the Sunlite Pool in the 1950s. Her challenge to Coney Island began after her sons, Donald Jr. and Edward Alexander, heard an advertisement inviting local children to visit.
Now, that pool is little more than a pile of rubble and dirt, after demolition activity kicked off at the end of March.
Fans of Coney Island and Sunlite Pool fought for months to find a way to save them, including offering to spend around $150,000 raised in donations to purchase the land containing the pool.
A grassroots group calling itself Save Coney Islanders fundraised for the money to make the offer, which MEMI and CSO refused. The group also worked to circulate petitions and organize rallies to try to preserve the history contained within Coney Island's property.
