light it up

13 festive light displays illuminating Houston this holiday season

Twinkly lights at night adds to the festive feelings of the holiday season. For Houstonians looking to add a little illumination to their winter festivities, the city has plenty of options to take in. These impressive installations offer incredible beauty and are sure to put people into the holiday spirit.

We've rounded up options from across the Houston area. They include staples such as Zoo Lights and Space Center Houston's Galaxy Lights as well as newcomers like Classic Christmas. All are sure to help attendees make new holiday memories.

Artechouse Holiday Spectacular
Running through January 5, 2025, this dazzling event blends digital art, interactive design, and ASMR to evoke comfort, curiosity, and festive nostalgia. Take a cinematic journey through whimsical ASMR-inspired visuals and soundscapes, or explore a dreamlike gift factory featuring floating Christmas bells, candy cane carousels, and thousands of dancing nutcrackers. XR Bar offers holiday cocktails and augmented reality for extra festive fun. Entry is available from 10 am to 10pm Monday through Sunday, with the last entry at 9pm. XR Bar is open Monday through Thursday from 4 pm to close and Friday through Sunday 11 am to close. Tickets start at $17.

Christmas Village at Bayou Bend
Cross a bridge illuminated with white lights and enter a magical world at historic Bayou Bend, the former home of Ima Hogg, now part of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Through December 30, this winter wonderland brings holiday cheer to the 14-acre estate with a trail of sparkling lights, carolers every night, a hand-crafted model train, animated projections, and activities like a cotton snowball toss, reindeer games, and sledding on a faux-snow slope. Tickets start at $18.

Cistern Illuminated
Go deep underground with this installation at the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern, where an immersive experience awaits from December 6 through January 26, 2025. Blending lights and sound, the decommissioned drinking water reservoir is transformed into a breathtaking spectacle, showcasing the Cistern’s repeating columns and their uncanny reflections on the surface of the water below. Concerts of seasonal favorites from the city’s choral groups add to the experience. Tickets are $15.

City Lights Downtown Holiday Magic Presented by Shell Energy
Back for its third year, this installation allows visitors to wander among 12 different villages throughout downtown. Expect sparkling lights, mesmerizing Christmas trees, social-worthy selfie stations, and many other activities. Most are free to enter, and a hop-on-hop-off holiday bus is available along the route, with tickets for $19.95. The lights run through December 31.

Classic Christmas
Head out to Memorial City Mall for this family-friendly outdoor installation, open through December 29. The highlight is the World’s Largest Christmas Light Maze, in partnership with Coca-Cola, and it’s the first time the installation has come to Houston. Activities include larger-than-life light sculptures, a market square with local holiday vendors, an ice-skating rink and snow slide, holiday-themed beverages and a 21-and-up lounge, live entertainment, and — of course — visits from Santa and Mrs. Claus. Tickets start at $21, with timed entry beginning at 5:30 pm.

Galaxy Lights
Space Center Houston’s holiday favorite returns, with light pods, an astronaut selfie lantern and walk-through space launch system rocket displays, s’mores fire pits, LED swings under the 747 Boeing Aircraft at Independence Plaza, and a host of activities to engage all ages. The installation runs through January 5, 2025, and tickets start at $19.95.

The Light Park
Typhoon Texas hosts this mile-long, drive-through experience. Guests will experience millions of lights synchronized to a mix of music by DJ Polar Ice. The lights run through January 5, 2025 and tickets start at $49 per vehicle.

Magical Winter Lights at Fort Bend Fairgrounds
Celebrating its 10th anniversary, this popular illuminated experience is open through January 5, 2025. New lantern displays transport guests into a dazzling winter wonderland, celebrating both the holiday season and global cultures. There’s also an acrobatic show, the fan favorite grand entrance castle, a dinosaur exhibit, and Houston-themed displays. The family-friendly carnival also returns, bringing joy with games, rides, and festive treats. General admission tickets are $27 with add-ons for the carnival available.

Houston Botanic Garden
The garden’s Radiant Nature display, open through February 23, 2025, captures the essence of the Lunar New Year with illuminated pathways and imaginative installations. It’s back for a second year, with dazzling displays incorporating parrots, lanterns, flowers, and more. Parking onsite is only available for those who’ve purchased a parking pass. Otherwise, guests will have to catch a shuttle at the nearby Monroe Park and Ride lot. Tickets are $28.50 with timed entry most nights. The first entry depends on the time of sunset.

Post Houston
Now through January 11, head to the roof of the downtown development for a Holiday Lights Celebration that features 100,000s of lights, a 25-foot Christmas tree, and multiple, holiday-themed activations — all with a fantastic view of the downtown skyline. Prices are $7 for weekdays and $10 on weekends. Children 5 and under are free.

Snow Glow on the Bayou
This breathtaking light and music spectacular takes place at Historic Allen's Landing Park from December 20 through 29. The immersive installation transforms Buffalo Bayou into a winter wonderland, with digital art projected onto a massive 4-story high, 6-story wide water screen, light displays on the bayou’s surface, festive music, and special holiday boat tours.Tickets are free, but attendees must register in advance online. Boat tours are $20.

Texas Winter Lights
This popular event returns to the Marriott Marquis in downtown. Gather at the hotel’s Altitude Rooftop and Pool for an evening of elevated cocktails, bites, and floating through the pool’s illuminated lazy river. For an extra fee, rent a private igloo, or go all-in and coordinate a proposal package to pop the big question in an exquisite surrounding. Tickets are $30.

Zoo Lights
Attendees can take in the sights and sounds of the season as they stroll through the Houston Zoo, transformed into a winter wonderland. New this year, the immersive Twinkle Trail takes guests through the zoo’s African Forest. Two cookie decorating stations will keep friends and families entertained at Twiga Café and Cypress Circle Café. A new holiday tree at the end of the Reflection Pool rounds out the holiday experience. There is a snow machine and lift chairs, trees wrapped in lights, and other festive fun. Zoo Lights runs through January 5, with timed entry each evening from 5:30 to 10:30 pm. Tickets, which start at $25.95, must be purchased online in advance.

Two girls running through a light display at Classic Christmas

Photo courtesy Enchant Christmas

Classic Christmas on the grounds of Memorial City Mall offers holiday fun for the whole family.

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Concert News

Jack Johnson rides into Houston on surf-themed 2026 tour

Photo by Tahnei Roy

Jack Johnson will play at Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas on August 30, 2026.

Singer-songwriter Jack Johnson, known his for laidback surf-rock music, will embark on the SURFILMUSIC Tour in 2026, which will include a stop at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands on Friday, August 28.

The expansive 43-date North American tour, which starts on June 19 in Gilford, New Hampshire, will have three separate legs.

The three Texas dates — The Woodlands on August 28, Austin on August 29, and Dallas on August 30 — will be part of the second leg, where Johnson will be joined by Lake Street Dive.

The tour is Johnson’s first since 2022 and will celebrate a new era of music, film, and environmental connection rooted in his 20+ year career.

Johnson is touring in support of a forthcoming soundtrack, scored by Johnson and Hermanos Gutiérrez for a new documentary, SURFILMUSIC, that chronicles Johnson’s evolution from surfer to filmmaker to musician.

The film, which will be released in 2026, weaves through the making of his iconic surf films Thicker Than Water (1999) and The September Sessions (2000), which paved the way for his music career.

It celebrates the lifelong friendships and ocean-driven community that shaped Johnson’s path, and features many of the surfers who appeared in the original films, including Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, and the Malloy Brothers.

Johnson released his first album, Brushfire Fairytales, in 2001, and he has gone on to put out eight other albums, most recently Meet the Moonlight in 2022.

Fans can register for the Jack Johnson presale at jackjohnsonmusic.com, now through Sunday, November 9. The presale begins Monday, November 10, 2025 at 10 am local time and runs through general on-sale date of Friday, November 14.

Jack Johnson SURFILMUSIC 2026 Tour Dates

June 19 – Gilford, NH – Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
June 20 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
June 21 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
June 24 – Saratoga, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
June 26 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion
June 27 – Philadelphia, PA – Highmark Mann Center
June 28 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
June 30 – Toronto, ON – RBC Amphitheatre
July 1 – Canandaigua, NY – CMAC
July 3 – Burgettstown, PA – Pavilion at Star Lake
July 4 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
July 5 – Grand Rapids, MI – Acrisure Amphitheater
July 7 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
July 8 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
July 10 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
July 11 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
July 12 – Shakopee, MN – Minnesota Quarry Amphitheater
August 18 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
August 19 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
August 21 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
August 22 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park
August 23 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
August 25 – Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater
August 26 – Orange Beach, AL – The Wharf Amphitheater
August 28 – The Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
August 29 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
August 30 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
September 1 – Riverside, MO – MORTON Amphitheater
September 2 – Greenwood Village, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
September 3 – Greenwood Village, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
September 4 – West Valley City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre
September 6 – Stateline, NV – Lake Tahoe Amphitheatre at Caesars Republic
September 26 – George, WA – The Gorge Amphitheatre
September 27 – Bend, OR – Hayden Homes Amphitheater
September 28 – Troutdale, OR – McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater
September 30–October 1 – Berkeley, CA – The Greek Theatre
October 3 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl
October 4 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl
October 6 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
October 9 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
October 10– Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
October 11– Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl

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