The beaches around Onset Bay took on a fiery red glow Saturday night as thousands of people lined the shoreline for Onset's annual illumination night.

As people began gathering along the outskirts of Onset Beach to view the lights, the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble, a five-man jazz band led by Ken Field marched down Onset Avenue to the gazebo on the Bluffs.

Field and his band played at the gazebo for nearly an hour before a boat horn sounded and the flares were lit shortly after 9 p.m.

Hundreds of people took to the beaches to get a closer look at the lights.

The Letscher family from Wrentham has spent a week in Onset every year for the last four years, but this was their first time seeing the illumination night.

"It's really nice. It's something you don't see anywhere else," said Dave Letscher.

"We love it here. It's a hidden gem," added his wife, Carolyn Letscher.

The event is put on every year by the Onset Bay Association