The driving golfer, the sea monster on the lake, the dashing squirrel and the old-fashioned gentlemen and ladies perched atop the hill are all part of the Clemmons tradition of the Tanglewood Festival of Lights. It opened Friday, Nov. 16 and ends Jan. 1. Beginning in 1992, the Festival is on its 27th season. It’s accompanied not only by Christmas classics on the radio but by the resulting traffic on Clemmons Rd. as well. Customers of Tanglewood Commons and residents of neighborhoods in the park’s vicinity are impacted the most.

Commons has several businesses and restaurants, including Harris Teeter and Villa Grill. It’s located across the street from Tanglewood Park, which makes it difficult for non-Festival cars to enter the shopping center.

“There’s more activity during the day, and it dies down around 6 p.m. because it’s harder to get in,” Harris Teeter customer service representative Jennifer Lundquist said.

Villa Grill’s peak hours of business are most often from 6 to 9 p.m., and because the Festival opens at 6 p.m., the abundance of automobiles on Clemmons Rd. hinders the restaurant’s normal activity.

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“We are negatively affected – not just my business – but all the businesses in the shopping center because a lot of the locals do not want to venture out,” Villa Grill owner Georgia Kroustalis said.

Residents of surrounding neighborhoods are no fans of the traffic, but they have grown accustomed to it.

“Once the season starts, my family and I know to never turn left out of Asbury [Place] after dark, or we’ll be stuck in the traffic for hours. By late December the traffic backs up so bad we’re blocked off from going left at all,” junior Rachel Turner said.

However, all hope of Clemmons travel is not lost. One way to avoid the most heavily congested part of Clemmons Rd. is to take Lasater Rd. and connect to Harper Rd. An entrance next to Monte De Rey Mexican Restaurant allows you to enter Tanglewood Commons. As for homeowners near the park, the traffic is a nuisance but not an all-out blockade.

“By turning right on 158, you can get to Lewisville-Clemmons Rd., and that connects to both I40 and 421, so it’s just a little out of the way,” Turner said.

The Lights traffic may add some extra time to your travel. But before you forego that entire section of Clemmons, think of the alternate routes you can take and the local businesses who are affected by it. The additional car time can be spent listening to music or catching up with your fellow passengers. It’s not always fun to move at one m.p.h., but Clemmons residents can make the best of it.