Illinois Holiday Events 2026: Dates, Prices, and What Sells Out

Most of the big Illinois holiday events have already posted their 2026 dates, and the three with the longest lines (ZooLights, Illumination, and the Christkindlmarkets) all open between November 14 and November 20. Admission runs from free to about $35 a head, and the free ones are the ones that fill up. Every date and price below was checked on October 13, 2026; where 2026 is still unposted, last year's dates are given as the guide.

Which Chicago light displays are free, and which charge per head

ZooLights at Lincoln Park Zoo is the cheapest ticketed display and the only one with free nights. Tickets went on sale October 6. A fixed-date ticket bought ahead costs $7 to $12 depending on the night; buying on the day, or buying the any-night Flexible ticket, costs $20. Admission is free on Mondays November 23 and 30 and December 7 and 14, but you still need a reservation, released one week ahead at 11 a.m. Central. Gates run 4:30 to 9 p.m. with last entry at 8, and the zoo is dark on Thanksgiving, on Tuesdays December 1, 8, and 15, and on December 24 and 25. Tuesday November 24 is the sensory-friendly night at $7, with the blinking lights slowed and the music turned down.

Illumination at the Morton Arboretum runs November 14 through January 2, 2027, its 14th season, with 22 displays and four new large installations. Adult tickets start at $22 for nonmembers and $17.60 for members, and the price moves with the date and time slot, so a weeknight in early December costs less than a Saturday the week before Christmas. Members have had access since October 1; the public sale opens October 15 at 9 a.m. New this year is the Pine Whistle Railroad, a model-train add-on at $7 for members and $9 for nonmembers, free under age 3, which keeps running in daytime through February 13.

Brookfield Zoo's Holiday Magic runs on select nights only: November 21 to 25 and 27 to 29, then December 3 to 6, 10 to 13, 17 to 23, and 26 to 31, plus January 1 to 3, 2027, from 3 to 9 p.m. Tickets start at $29.95 and members get in free. Most weeknights in early December are dark, so check the date grid before you drive out, and budget for parking on top of admission, which makes it the priciest of the three for a family of four. The Reindeer Run, a 2-mile race inside the zoo, is set for the evening of November 14.

Local note: ZooLights' free Monday tickets exist only for the four Mondays before Christmas week. December 21 and 28 are regular paid nights even though they are Mondays.

Where the Christkindlmarkets are in 2026, and which one to pick

All three Christkindlmarket locations open Friday, November 20, for the market's 30th anniversary, and entry is free at each. Daley Plaza (50 W. Washington) runs daily through December 24, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. The Wrigleyville market at Gallagher Way is the small one, 28 vendors, but the only one open after Christmas: it runs to December 31, closed Christmas Day, with weekday hours of 3 to 9 p.m. Aurora's market at RiverEdge Park is the largest by vendor count, more than 60, and opens only Thursday through Sunday, through December 24. Many vendors do not take cards, so bring cash for the mugs and the glühwein.

The Wintrust Magnificent Mile Lights Festival is Saturday, November 21: free family activities on Lights Festival Lane from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the parade stepping off from Oak Street at 5:30 p.m., then fireworks over the river at the Michigan Avenue bridge. It is the biggest crowd of the season on Michigan Avenue, so take the train in.

What Naperville and Rockford do on Thanksgiving weekend

Naperville's Grand Illumination and Parade of Lights is Friday, November 27, 5 to 8 p.m., downtown and along the Riverwalk: an illuminated parade, the tree lighting, and the opening of the Santa House on the Riverwalk. The companion display is NaperLights, the Rotary Club of Naperville Sunrise's 250,000-plus lights along Water Street, synced to music nightly from 4 to 10 p.m. and free; in 2025 it lit up November 28, and 2026 dates were not posted as of mid-October. See Naperville for parking and the rest of downtown.

Rockford's Stroll on State is Saturday, November 28, free, in downtown Rockford: a balloon parade, the tree lighting, fireworks, a returning drone show, and more than 20 attractions. The organizers have signed a presenting partnership that keeps it running through 2028, and even the snowiest edition on record still drew 15,000 people, so dress for standing outside for hours.

Downstate: the drive-through displays that beat the city on price

East Peoria's Festival of Lights is the one downstate event with its 2026 parade date confirmed: the 42nd Parade of Lights steps off Saturday, November 21, at 6:30 p.m. The drive-through display of parade floats at VFW Post 2078 Park (123 Par 3 Lane, off Springfield Road) usually opens the Friday after the parade; the city had not posted 2026 hours or prices as of October 13. In 2025 it ran through January 4 at $10 per car, paid in cash at the booth with no online sales, 5 to 9 p.m. most nights and until 11 on Fridays and Saturdays. Weekend lines are long; go on a weeknight. Peoria is across the river for dinner.

Belleville's Way of Lights at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows is free to drive through, November 20 through December 31, 5 to 9 p.m., with more than 1.5 million lights along the shrine road. Camel rides, pony rides, and food cost extra. The 2026 dates come from the Downstate Illinois visitors guide rather than the shrine's own page, and in past years the display closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so confirm before a December 24 trip. Belleville is 20 minutes from downtown St. Louis.

Alton's Christmas Wonderland at Rock Spring Park had not posted 2026 dates by mid-October. The pattern for years has been opening the day after Thanksgiving (November 27 in 2026) through December 27, weekdays 6 to 9 p.m. and weekends 5 to 9, with a $10 suggested donation per car and one pedestrian-only night on the first Monday after Thanksgiving.

Springfield's Old Capitol Holiday Walks, run by Downtown Springfield Inc., are free and in 2025 ran Wednesdays 4 to 7 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. from November 29 to December 20, with the tree lighting on the Old State Capitol Plaza at Sixth and Adams. One aggregator lists the same November 29 to December 20 window for 2026, which matches last year to the day and should be treated as a placeholder until Visit Springfield confirms it. See Springfield for the Lincoln sites, which stay open through the season.

Local note: the downstate drive-throughs charge per car, not per person, so a full minivan at Way of Lights or East Peoria costs $0 to $10 against $80 to $140 for the same group at Brookfield.

Before you go

• ZooLights and Illumination are the two that need tickets in advance; both price by date, so weeknights are cheaper.

• Free Monday ZooLights reservations open one week ahead at 11 a.m.; December 21 and 28 are not free.

• Christkindlmarket vendors are cash-heavy; Aurora is closed Monday through Wednesday.

• Brookfield's 2026 dates (November 19 to January 3) come from event listings, not the zoo, as of October 13.

• East Peoria's drive-through, Alton's Christmas Wonderland, Springfield's Holiday Walks, and NaperLights had not posted 2026 dates by mid-October; last year's are listed above.

• Check the Illinois events calendar guide for the rest of the year.

Quick answers

When does ZooLights 2026 start and how much is it? November 20, 2026 through January 3, 2027. Advance fixed-date tickets are $7 to $12, day-of or flexible tickets are $20, and Mondays November 23 and 30 and December 7 and 14 are free with a reservation.

Is the Christkindlmarket free? Yes, at all three locations. Daley Plaza and Aurora run November 20 to December 24; Wrigleyville runs to December 31. Food, drinks, and the collectible mugs are what you pay for.

Which Illinois holiday light displays are free? Belleville's Way of Lights, Naperville's NaperLights, Rockford's Stroll on State, and the Mag Mile Lights Festival are free. Alton's and East Peoria's drive-throughs charged $10 a car in 2025.