# Milwaukee Holiday Lights Festival > Event for families in the Milwaukee–Waukesha area (WI). Times are Central Time. - When: Nov 19 – Jan 1 - Where: Cathedral Square Park (Community Spirit Park) and other downtown parks, 520 E. Wells St., Milwaukee, WI 53202 - Ages: All ages - Price: Free to view - Organizer: Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21 - Official page: https://www.milwaukeedowntown.com/ - Last checked: Sat, Oct 24 Source: Grassy Knees is a directory of real family events, places and programs for kids across major U.S. metro areas, where every listing is researched from the organizer’s own page and shows the date we last checked it. https://grassyknees.com covers 42 metro areas as of Oct 24, 2026, with more added regularly. About: https://grassyknees.com/about Freshness: listings are re-checked on a daily research run (latest check 2026-10-24), and new events are added as organizers post them. Sell-outs, weather cancellations and time changes show up on the live page first: https://grassyknees.com/milwaukee/activities/milwaukee-holiday-lights-festival--listing-24195b3989c8c8ffc6a53e68 ## About For six weeks downtown Milwaukee's parks and Wisconsin Avenue glow with more than half a million lights. Cathedral Square becomes 'Community Spirit Park', a forest of more than 100 evergreens each decorated by an area school or organization; Pere Marquette Park is '¡Felices Fiestas!'; Zeidler Union Square is 'Santa's Celebration Square', with Santa's electric reindeer, an oversized chair and sleigh and a giant picture frame for family photos; and Red Arrow Park has 'Slice of Ice Lights'. Wisconsin Avenue is lined with chandeliers and decorated storefronts. Free to walk any evening. ## Similar picks in Milwaukee - [Milwaukee Holiday Lights Festival Kickoff Extravaganza](https://grassyknees.com/milwaukee/activities/milwaukee-holiday-lights-festival-kickoff-extravaganza--listing-2cadc531557e6a7c4f3f93c3) — Thu, Nov 19 · 5:30 PM · Pere Marquette Park · All ages · Free · checked Oct 24. Downtown Milwaukee switches on more than half a million holiday lights at this free evening kickoff. Pre-show entertainment starts at 5:30 p.m. and the main show at 6:30 p.m… - [Wild Lights at the Milwaukee County Zoo](https://grassyknees.com/milwaukee/activities/wild-lights-at-the-milwaukee-county-zoo--listing-6725a69572e3ab326b45745b) — Fri, Nov 20 (+27 more dates) · 5:30 PM – 9:00 PM · Milwaukee County Zoo · From $15 · checked Oct 24. The zoo's winter night walk: families stroll forest paths and zoo pathways lit by hundreds of thousands of lights and animal-themed light displays. It is a walking event after… - [Wild Lights Drive Thru](https://grassyknees.com/milwaukee/activities/wild-lights-drive-thru--listing-8b939aaff22ad2c8c896338c) — Sun, Nov 22 (+2 more dates) · 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM · Milwaukee County Zoo · All ages · From $40 · checked Oct 24. On three nights the zoo opens its Wild Lights holiday light displays to cars, so families can see the illuminated forest and animal-themed displays from the warmth of the back… - [Waukesha Night of Lights: Tree Lighting, Lantern Stroll and Walk of Lights](https://grassyknees.com/milwaukee/activities/waukesha-night-of-lights-tree-lighting-lantern-stroll-and-walk-of-ligh--listing-4b05a6e74e0d4625ea09d904) — Fri, Dec 4 · 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM · The Rotunda (start) to Riverfront Plaza, Waukesha · checked Oct 24. Downtown Waukesha's holiday kickoff. It starts at 5:30 p.m. with the tree lighting at The Rotunda, with music, hot chocolate and Santa. Then families light lanterns and follow… - [Northern Lights — Friday Night Planetarium Show](https://grassyknees.com/milwaukee/activities/northern-lights-friday-night-planetarium-show--listing-24b6fa1bd26aee93ee432fed) — Fri, Nov 6 (+4 more dates) · 7:00 PM – 8:00 PM · UWM Manfred Olson Planetarium · From $7 · checked Oct 24. A Friday-night dome show on the aurora: the colorful dancing lights of the night sky and a behind-the-scenes look at the science behind them, followed by an indoor stargazing… - [Storytime with Santa at Discovery World](https://grassyknees.com/milwaukee/activities/storytime-with-santa-at-discovery-world--listing-ac6bbfab45b4fe3d412c1c53) — Sat, Nov 28 (+1 more date) · 11:00 AM – 1:30 PM · Discovery World · With admission · checked Oct 24. Santa reads holiday stories in the Discovery World theater at 11 a.m., noon and 1 p.m., then strolls through the building between sessions greeting children. A low-key Santa… ## More for families - [Christmas and holiday events for kids in Milwaukee](https://grassyknees.com/milwaukee/christmas) (Markdown: https://grassyknees.com/milwaukee/christmas.md) - [This weekend in Milwaukee](https://grassyknees.com/milwaukee/this-weekend) (Markdown: https://grassyknees.com/milwaukee/this-weekend.md) - [Things to do with kids in Milwaukee](https://grassyknees.com/milwaukee) (Markdown: https://grassyknees.com/milwaukee.md)