Way Downstream … (Dec. 26, 2019-Jan. 1, 2020)

      In these deflating times, holiday lights offer a sure-fire pick-me-up, explosions of brightness that dazzle the senses and trigger images from a peaceful past.

         We’ve seen no more compelling light presentation this season than the 25th annual Lights on the Bay holiday show at Sandy Point State Park, sponsored by SPCA of Anne Arundel County.

         After dinner is a fine time, we’ve learned (open 5-10pm), and rumor has it that the extravaganza aids digestion and cues up sweet dreams. Ask for a pair of special 3D glasses as you pay, and the experience becomes psychedelic.

         It’s fitting that the SPCA is sponsor because the show features phantasmagoric creatures of many a sort, particularly those that swim. You might shiver visiting the North Pole, and you can revel with midshipmen flinging their hats skyward.

         Our favorites this year among the 70 stationary and animated displays were the red octopus and a green ­dragon that acts as though she might climb in your car.

         This special show runs through Jan. 1 and costs $20 per vehicle. (Look for your coupon in Bay Weekly.)