UC Riverside is a sponsor of the 2021 Riverside Festival of Lights, generating awareness about the university to the hundreds of thousands of people who visit the event from across Southern California.

The primary feature of the sponsorship is a series of UCR-branded displays featuring holiday lights in the shape of gift boxes and stars in high-traffic areas by the Mission Inn where visitors can pose for photos. This is the second time UCR has had an visitor experience at the Festival of Lights. In 2019, a UCR-themed snow globe experience was one of the lead attractions of the event. 

The festival began Nov. 29 and runs through Dec. 31.