Celebration in Lights Opens Thanksgiving Night. The One Night You Can Walk It Comes First.
November 5, 2026
November 5, 2026
For one evening before the cars arrive, the two-mile loop through Newport News Park is open to people on foot. On Tuesday, November 24, the Holiday Light Stroll runs walkers through the Celebration in Lights route at walking pace. That means the new 30-foot illuminated squid gets more than the few seconds a passing windshield allows. Two nights later, on Thanksgiving, the gates open to cars and stay that way nightly through New Year's Day.
Most Newport News households already know the drive-through. The less familiar part of the season is its timing. The 2026 calendar gives you a different experience, and often a lower price, depending on which night you pick and where you buy. Several of the best ways in sit outside the drive-through's regular gate schedule. Go through the season in date order and the pattern repeats.
The stroll doesn't start at the park. Walkers park at Woodside High School, 13450 Woodside Lane, and ride a shuttle bus to the start of the route. The bus goes one way only, and everyone walks the two miles back to the parking lot. Tickets on Eventbrite start at $17.79, and proceeds go to the Center for Child & Family Services.
That price sets the night apart from the rest of the season. A car pays $15 to $20 at the gate no matter how many people ride in it, while the stroll is priced per ticket. For a carload, the stroll costs more than the drive. It's the only way to see the displays up close, and the money goes to a local nonprofit.
The organizer's Holiday Light Stroll site lays out the logistics:
The stroll is the only non-car night on the 2026 calendar. Anyone who wants to see the route on foot has one Tuesday to do it.
Celebration in Lights opens Thursday, November 26, and runs nightly from 5:30 to 10 p.m. through January 1, 2027. This is its 34th season. The 2-mile route has more than 1,000 displays, and the Newport News Parks & Recreation listing highlights three new ones this year: the 30-foot illuminated squid, a Poinsettia Arch and an all-new Santa's Village.
Your night choice sets the price.
| How you get in | Price per car | Compared with a weekend gate price |
|---|---|---|
| Gate, Friday through Sunday | $20 | Same |
| Gate, Monday through Thursday | $15 | $5 less |
| Advance ticket, any night | $12 | $8 less |
| Bus | $85 | Not a car rate |
The advance ticket is the one to know about. It costs $12, works on any night of the run, and is sold at the Newport News Visitor Center. The visitor center sits at 13560 Jefferson Avenue, the same address as the park where the lights run.
Watch the hours, though. The visitor center is open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily and closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. It closes half an hour before the lights come on at 5:30, so you can't buy the discount ticket on your way in that evening. You have to make a separate daytime stop. It's also closed on opening night and on three of the season's busiest holiday dates, so if you want to drive through on one of those nights, buy the ticket earlier.
The savings are biggest on weekends. On a Monday through Thursday, the advance ticket saves $3 over the gate price. On a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, it saves $8, which is 40 percent of the weekend price. Families who can only go on weekends save the most by buying ahead.
Santa's Village is part of the drive-through route, so the same car ticket that covers the squid and the Poinsettia Arch covers it too.
The first Saturday in December moves the season's main event across town. The City of Newport News calendar lists the Annual Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony & Drone Show at City Center at Oyster Point Fountain Plaza on Saturday, December 5, from 6:00 to 9:15 p.m. The tree is lit at 6:30. The rest of the evening has strolling entertainment, holiday vendors, children's activities, games, food trucks, and the premiere of the 2026 light show featuring Timber the Talking Tree. The night ends with 500 drones over the plaza at 9 p.m.
Parks & Recreation lists free parking garages and a free shuttle from Canon Headquarters, with that lot opening at 4:30 p.m.
The schedule shapes the rest of that Saturday. The drone show starts at 9 p.m., and Celebration in Lights closes at 10 p.m. A family that stays at City Center for the drones has less than an hour to get up Jefferson Avenue to the park and through two miles of displays before the gates close, and it would pay the $20 weekend rate without an advance ticket. Choose one event for that Saturday and save the drive-through for a weeknight.
Free events fill the rest of December. Winter Wonderland, run by Newport News Parks & Recreation at the Denbigh Community Center, 15198 Warwick Blvd., offers free, family-oriented holiday programs on a schedule spread through the month. The Winter Wonderland listing includes:
Most of these happen on weeknights, which are also the cheaper nights at the park, where the gate price is $15 Monday through Thursday. The Gingerbread Village and Santa's Creative Corner both run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The lights open at 5:30 and stay on until 10, so on either of those nights you can go from Warwick Blvd. to Newport News Park with plenty of time to drive the route.
Newport News also expects a new restaurant around the time the lights reach their busiest weeks. The Daily Press reported on October 30 that Park Lane Tavern is opening in early December at 12122 Jefferson Ave., near Patrick Henry Mall. It's moving into the building that has sat empty since a TGI Fridays there closed in August 2024.
The tavern already has locations in Hampton, which opened in 2009, and Kempsville, which opened in 2018. The menu mixes American and European dishes cooked from scratch, including beef Wellington, London broil, bangers and mash, and shepherd's pie. Co-owner Greg Knox told the Daily Press that "the lighting is imported from Italy, the bar is a replica of one you'd find in Scotland, and all of our furnishings and fixtures are purchased from overseas."
According to the same Daily Press report, the Newport News location will add a small stage for live music, a private dining area, more craft cocktails and new menu items, and it plans to employ 75 people. Park Lane Tavern sits on Jefferson Avenue, the same road as Newport News Park, so it could make a dinner stop on a night you drive through the lights.
Whether you walk the route on the 24th or drive it in late December, the Peninsula is where 4 Oceans Real Estate Group lives and works, from Patrick Henry to City Center. If this season has you wondering what your Newport News home is worth before the new year, get your instant home valuation. We'll give you local context along with the number.
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