"What started as a little idea turned into thousands of cars coming through every Christmas, and it was really cool seeing families make it part of their Christmas traditions."
The owners of Lubbock Light Park wrote that in their goodbye post. Late on Monday, Sept. 28, they announced that the drive-thru Christmas display at South Plains Mall will not return this season. They sold the show, and the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported that it is moving to Arlington's Frostival at Howell Family Farms. It had a short run. It started in 2024 and ran from November through December, with light scenes and synchronized holiday music.
Light Park's real draw was the format. For about two months you could pick any night, stay in the car with the heater on, and drive through on your own schedule. As of early October, nothing on Lubbock's confirmed 2026 calendar works that way. The season that remains takes place mostly on foot, on set dates, and much of it lands in a single three-night stretch at the start of December. Expect less "whenever we get around to it" and more "put it on the calendar now."
What the Mall Has and Hasn't Posted
South Plains Mall's events listing doesn't show a holiday light display or anything replacing Light Park. The mall's Santa page has a reservation link but no 2026 visit dates yet. The Avalanche-Journal hasn't run a follow-up on Light Park since its Sept. 29 report. That could change before Thanksgiving. Until it does, the mall lot is no longer a holiday-lights stop.
The lights are moving downtown, onto the Texas Tech campus, and out to the National Ranching Heritage Center.
The Dates Organizers Have Confirmed
Four organizers have posted 2026 dates on their own sites. Here they are in order:
| Event | Where | 2026 Dates | Hours | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lights at LHUCA | LHUCA Plaza, 511 Avenue K | Dec. 4, 2026 – Jan. 1, 2027 | 5 p.m. – midnight nightly | Free |
| Miracles Christmas Parade | 34th Street, Avenue Q to Indiana Avenue | Saturday, Dec. 5 | 6 p.m. | Not stated for 2026 |
| Carol of Lights | Science Quadrangle, Texas Tech | Sunday, Dec. 6 | 6:30 p.m. carillon, 7 p.m. ceremony | Not stated for 2026 |
| Candlelight at the Ranch | National Ranching Heritage Center, 3121 4th St. | Friday and Saturday, Dec. 11–12 | 6:30 – 9 p.m. | Free, $5 donation suggested |
Laid out this way, the shape of the season is clear. Three of the four start inside one 72-hour window from Friday, Dec. 4, to Sunday, Dec. 6. The fourth comes the next weekend. Only one stays open long enough to work like Light Park did.
Friday, Dec. 4: LHUCA Turns On, and Stays On
Lights at LHUCA is the closest thing Lubbock has to a display you can visit whenever it suits you. The Louise Hopkins Underwood Center for the Arts lights LHUCA Plaza every night from Dec. 4 through New Year's Day, 5 p.m. to midnight. That's 29 nights in a row. The midnight close is useful for anyone who wants to stop by after a late dinner downtown or after the kids are finally asleep.
LHUCA describes the plaza as a winter wonderland with visits with Santa, holiday crafts, concerts and hot chocolate from United Supermarkets. All activities are free and open to the public. The program is supported by United Supermarkets and Mission Services. LHUCA hasn't posted its full event calendar yet. The page says only "Coming October 2026," so the nights for Santa and the concerts are still to be announced.
Light Park's flexibility now has a different home. You walk a downtown arts plaza at your own pace instead of driving a loop at the mall.
Saturday, Dec. 5: The Parade on 34th Street
The next night, the Miracles Christmas Parade comes down 34th Street from Avenue Q to Indiana Avenue at 6 p.m. This year's theme is "Polar Nights." The organizer's page doesn't list a 2026 cost. Local coverage of last year's parade called it free.
The parade has the opposite schedule from LHUCA. It's one evening along a fixed route, and the people who see it are the ones who show up along 34th Street that Saturday.
Sunday, Dec. 6: Carol of Lights
Texas Tech's page for the 68th Annual Carol of Lights sets it for Sunday, Dec. 6. A carillon concert starts at 6:30 p.m., and the ceremony begins at 7 p.m. in front of the sciences building in the Science Quadrangle, just west of Memorial Circle. The program features the Texas Tech University Combined Choirs, the Trombone Choir, the Masked Rider, the High Riders and the Saddle Tramps. Then more than 30,000 lights come on across campus at the flip of a switch.
The university's 2026 page doesn't mention admission. The Avalanche-Journal's 2025 holiday guide described the event as free and open to the public.
That makes the first weekend of December Lubbock's real holiday-lights weekend this year. A family could catch the LHUCA opening on Friday, the parade on Saturday and the campus lighting on Sunday without leaving the city or buying a ticket for any of them, based on what the organizers have published so far.
Dec. 11–12: Candlelight at the Ranch
The following weekend, the National Ranching Heritage Center holds its 48th Annual Candlelight at the Ranch on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 11 and 12, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. The theme is a frontier Christmas. Entry is free with a suggested $5 donation.
Candlelight also offers something extra for families who miss the ease of a drive-thru. VIP Experience Passes cost $100 each and include:
- Reserved parking for one car
- Early entry from 6 to 6:30 p.m. for the passholder and six guests, seven people total
- Light holiday refreshments
- Support for the center's ranching heritage preservation and education work
Ranching Heritage Association members can buy passes starting Nov. 2, and the general public starting Nov. 9. Questions about passes go to Daniel Meyers at [email protected] or (806) 834-1621. ACME Electric and The CH Foundation help make the event possible.
The same NRHC page lists a Cow Trail Christmas at the center's J.J. Gibson Park "every evening Dec. 1–Jan. 3." If that's confirmed for this year, it would be a second display running for weeks. The listing doesn't give a year, hours or admission details, so check with the NRHC before planning around it.
The Traditions That Haven't Posted 2026 Dates
Several long-running local events haven't announced their dates for this year. The latest confirmed details are below, labeled by year:
- Tech Terrace U.N.I.T. Holiday Home Tour. The neighborhood association says the tour returns this December, with date and ticket details still to come. The 2025 tour ran Saturday, Dec. 6, from 1 to 4 p.m., and the Avalanche-Journal listed tickets at just under $40. It's also the tour that has funded the walking trail around Tech Terrace Park for years.
- Santa Land at Mackenzie Park. City of Lubbock Parks and Recreation hasn't posted 2026 dates. In 2025, Santa Land ran nightly from Dec. 8 through Dec. 21, 6 to 10 p.m., at 600 Cesar E. Chavez Drive, and it was free. That was 14 nights. If 2026 follows a similar pattern, it would be the city's other multi-night option, but nothing has been announced yet.
- Ransom Canyon Christmas Tour of Homes. No 2026 date has been announced. The 38th tour took place Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, from 6:30 to 9 p.m. It included four homes and the Ransom Canyon Memorial Chapel. KCBD's coverage of the evening described music, caroling, cider and Santa. Tickets were sold, but KCBD's reports didn't give a price.
- Neighborhood light displays. The most recent viewer-submitted map from EverythingLubbock covered 2025 and ranged "from Tech Terrace to the outskirts of town." Last year's map isn't a reliable guide to which houses will be lit this year.
If Santa Land comes back on a schedule like last year's, it would overlap with Candlelight weekend and LHUCA's long run. That would make mid-December the second busy stretch of the season.
How December 2026 Lays Out on a Calendar
Here's the season so far, without Light Park:
- Dec. 4 through Jan. 1: LHUCA Plaza, nightly, 5 p.m. to midnight. This is the flexible option.
- Dec. 5: Miracles Christmas Parade on 34th Street, 6 p.m.
- Dec. 6: Carol of Lights at Texas Tech, 6:30 p.m. carillon and 7 p.m. ceremony.
- Dec. 11–12: Candlelight at the Ranch, 6:30 to 9 p.m. VIP passes go on sale Nov. 2 for members and Nov. 9 for everyone else.
- To be announced: the Tech Terrace home tour, Santa Land, the Ransom Canyon tour, and confirmation of Cow Trail Christmas.
Light Park's departure takes away the one drive-thru option in town that didn't require any planning. What's left rewards anyone who marks the first two weekends of December now and keeps LHUCA Plaza in mind for the nights in between. You'll find more on everyday life across the city on our Lubbock neighborhood page.
At Loya Harrison Cobb and Stone River Realty, we'll keep this calendar updated as Santa Land, the Tech Terrace tour and the Ransom Canyon tour announce their 2026 dates. If you'd like the updated list when it's ready, or you have family coming in for the holidays and want ideas for where to take them, Let's Connect.
