Christmas in November: Where to see holiday lights starting this week
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The calendar of seasonal highlights is filling up fast in central Indiana. The next round of holiday memories, wedged neatly between Election Day and Thanksgiving, comes from the crowded field of massive holiday light displays.
They start shining as soon as this week!
Christmas Nights of Lights
The Indiana State Fairgrounds will host one of the first outdoor feast for the eyes. Promoters of “Christmas Nights of Lights” promise the largest drive-thru light show in Indianapolis, featuring more than one million lights synchronized to music.
The headline addition this year is a “Cosmic Wall of Lights” – 180 feet long and two stories tall.
Christmas Nights of Lights start Friday, Nov. 8, and runs through New Year’s Eve. Tickets start at $35 per car, and promoters say you need to register for them online because visitor numbers are limited each evening.
Winterlights
Newfields is also preparing for its annual display. This will be the 8th year for Winterlights, which winds through several of the signature sights on the museum property. Organizers say they’re planning nearly two million lights set to a soundtrack from the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.
At Winterlights, you can also buy seasonal food and drink, including gingerbread popcorn, spiced plumb cider, hot cocoa, and several grownups-only options, like “Electric Reindeer” beer and peppermint vodka.
Winterlights runs from Nov. 23 to Jan. 5. Several of the nights will have specialized programs, including:
- Indy Pride Night (12/1)
- Kwanzaa at Winterlights (12/5)
- Las Posadas with Arte Mexicano en Indiana (12/19)
- Latkes and Lights with the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis (12/29)
Tickets prices depend on the date, starting at $35 for adults and less for children and seniors.
Christmas at the Zoo
The annual event from the Indianappolis Zoo begins also begins Nov. 23. Christmas at the Zoo features light displays throughout the Zoo, a chance to visit Santa in a new “Magic Cottage,” and see several of the Zoo’s heartier animals in late fall and winter weather.
Standard zoo admission includes the seasonal sights. Prices start at $15 for adults, depending on the date.
Merry Prairie Holiday
Conner Prairie’s seasonal celebration starts later in the month on Nov. 29.
The Merry Prairie Holiday festival includes Historic Holiday scenes in Prairietown and light displays that include the iconic Reynold’s Farm Equipment lights that brought generations of families to the interchange of State Road 37 and I-69 before their move to the living history muesum.
Ticket prices for non-members start at $26.
Circle of Lights
The oldest (and tallest!) Christmas light tradition in Indianapolis is the Circle of Lights. Each year, electrical workers with IBEW 481 string the Soldiers and Sailors Monument with towering strands of lights.
From the ceremonial flipping of the switch on the Friday evening after Thanksgiving through January 11, 2025, the lights will glow at night for all to see and are totally free – if you don’t consider the cost of waiting through downtown traffic to get to the Circle first.