Midwest City's Holiday Lights Spectacular closes at 10 p.m. every night this season, and that includes Fridays, Saturdays and Christmas. In 2025, weekend and holiday nights ran until 11. That hour is gone. The city lists the drive-through at Joe B. Barnes Regional Park every night from Tuesday, Dec. 1, through Sunday, Dec. 27, 6 to 10 p.m. Admission is free, donations are welcome, and the entrance is at SE 15th St. and Century Blvd. The kickoff now falls on the Monday before opening and has a new name.
If your family has a December habit built around a late Saturday drive, the season still has plenty of nights. They just end earlier.
The 11 p.m. nights are gone
For years, the display kept a weekend rhythm. KFOR's 2021 coverage listed 6 to 11 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The 2025 season kept the same pattern. It ran Dec. 2 through Dec. 28, closing at 10 p.m. on most nights and at 11 p.m. on weekends and the two Christmas nights.
The city's 2026 calendar listing shows 6 to 10 p.m. on every scheduled night. Christmas Day this year is a Friday and the day after is a Saturday, and both close at 10.
| 2025 season | 2026 season | |
|---|---|---|
| Kickoff event | Walk the Lights, Mon., Dec. 1 | Light the City, Mon., Nov. 30 |
| Kickoff hours | 5:30 to 8 p.m. | 5:30 to 8 p.m. |
| Kickoff cost | $5 per person, kids 5 and under free | $5 entry at the gate, cash only |
| Drive-through dates | Dec. 2 to Dec. 28 | Dec. 1 to Dec. 27 |
| Weeknight hours | 6 to 10 p.m. | 6 to 10 p.m. |
| Fri., Sat., Christmas Eve and Day | 6 to 11 p.m. | 6 to 10 p.m. |
| Drive-through admission | Free, donations welcome | Free, donations welcome |
Count the nights that would have run late under last year's format. This December has four Fridays, four Saturdays and Christmas Eve, which is nine evenings that each lose an hour compared with 2025. The total number of nights stays about the same, since the season simply starts and ends a day earlier on the calendar. The change is to the shape of the night, and it matters most to anyone who used to save the drive for after a weekend dinner.
The season's length has moved before. In 2024 the drive-through ran Dec. 3 through Dec. 25 and closed on Christmas night. Then 2025 added the days after Christmas, and 2026 keeps them through Sunday, Dec. 27.
The kickoff moved to a Monday and got a new name
In 2025 the opening event was called Walk the Lights. On Monday, Dec. 1, the night before the drive-through opened, visitors could stroll the one-mile stretch of lights and animated displays, with live music and hot chocolate. Admission was $5, and children 5 and under got in free, according to MetroFamily Magazine's event listing.
This year's version is Light the City, set for Monday, Nov. 30, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the park. The city says it will "flip the switch for the first time of the season," with carols, hot chocolate, crafts and photos with Santa. Entry is $5 at the gate, cash only.
That date puts the kickoff on the Monday after Thanksgiving weekend. If holiday guests are staying through that weekend, the lights won't be on yet before they leave. And since the gate only takes cash, it helps to stop at an ATM before you get in line.
What the drive looks like this year
The city describes the 2026 display as "over 1 million all-new LED lights," a 118-foot lighted tree, and trees that "dance to 93.5 on your radio in the car." It calls the route "over a mile's worth of memories and fun for the whole family."
The tree has been part of the display for years. Last December, News 9 described it as 118 feet tall with more than 9,000 LED bulbs and dated the tradition to 1995. Set your car radio to 93.5 FM before you pull through the SE 15th St. entrance so the music lines up with the display from the start.
Fitting the lights around the rest of December
A 10 p.m. close leaves less room to stack a dinner, a show and the drive into one evening. Two of December's bigger local events start just as the lights are getting going.
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens runs Dec. 4 through Dec. 13 at the RSC Theatre at Rose State College, with a 7 p.m. curtain listed on the college's event page.
- Darci Lynne & Friends – Christmas Tour comes to the Rose State College Performing Arts Center, 6000 S Prosper Rd, on Thursday, Dec. 10, at 7:30 p.m., per TravelOK.
The lights open at 6 and the curtain goes up at 7 or 7:30, so doing both in one night means taking your lap first and keeping it short. For most families it will be easier to give the lights their own night, and the season offers 27 of them.
Dinner can stay close to the park. Mountain Mike's Pizza held its grand opening on Jan. 30, 2026, at 5855 SE 15th St. in the Sooner Rose Shopping Center, according to a City of Midwest City announcement. That's on the same street as the park entrance. Smalls Sliders' Midwest City location is at 1716 S. Sooner Rd. In March, the Midwest City Beacon described it as an 800-square-foot modular restaurant with a covered patio and a drive-through, serving sliders, fries, queso and shakes.
The dates to keep
- Wednesday, Nov. 11, 10 to 11:30 a.m.: Midwest City's Veterans Day Parade.
- Monday, Nov. 30, 5:30 to 8 p.m.: Light the City kickoff at Joe B. Barnes Regional Park, $5 cash at the gate.
- Tuesday, Dec. 1: First drive-through night, 6 to 10 p.m.
- Dec. 4 through Dec. 13: A Christmas Carol at the RSC Theatre.
- Thursday, Dec. 10: Darci Lynne & Friends at the Rose State College Performing Arts Center.
- Friday, Dec. 25, and Saturday, Dec. 26: Lights open 6 to 10 p.m.
- Sunday, Dec. 27: Last night of the season.
Last year's season ran through Dec. 28. This year the final drive is Sunday, Dec. 27, and it ends at 10 p.m. like every other night.
If you're new to Midwest City this season, or you're helping a family who arrives before the lights go dark, Kat Kosmala Group is happy to share the local calendar that makes a new place start to feel like home. Contact Us anytime.
