A holiday tradition for over 20 years, the Oglebay Winter Festival Of Lights was officially underway Wednesday evening.

The countdown to the festival ended with a bright finish, as this year things kicked off with a new display at the Good Zoo.

A lighting and music extravaganza made up of 35, 000 multi-colored lights choreographed to music set the stage for the winter season.

"We've been working for quite a while,” said creator of the display Carson Williams. “The team from Oglebay, myself, have been getting this light show together, so it's been fun."

Williams started the light display on his home in Cincinnati, and before he knew it, he was discovered by NBC’s Today Show.

His house was featured on the show back in 2005.

Williams said Oglebay crews contacted him after checking out his home on the internet.

“The next thing you know everybody in the world is looking at something I did, which is you know, hard to fathom,” said Williams. “And these guys asked me in January and wanted me to do something for their show because they've been doing lights here for some 20 years."

This new display is just one attraction at the lights spectacular, which covers more than 300 acres throughout the resort.

The festival is popular for both visitors and local residents who make the 6-mile drive through the park a holiday tradition year after year.

"It's become a holiday tradition for so many families,” said Caren Knoyer, the marketing director at Oglebay. “Not only right here in the Ohio Valley, but so many other areas, people come back year after year, and bring their families."

The festival of lights will run from Nov. 8 until Jan. 7.

For more information about the Festival Of Lights, please click here.

-Renee Cardelli & Natalie Pasquarella, NEWS9