Out on the Rio Tinto Kennecott Plaza at Loveland Living Planet Aquarium, the larger-than-life, nature-inspired lanterns have been glowing every evening since Nov. 6. Across town, the trees in Draper Park are waiting for one Monday night. Santa and special guests are scheduled to switch the park's display on just after 6 p.m. on Nov. 30.
That gives Draper two light shows this season. They start about three weeks apart, they end eight days apart, one costs money and the other is free, and they keep different hours. If you plan December around both, you get more out of each.
The lanterns are already on, and they have their own ticket
The Aquarium Lantern Festival runs from November 6 through January 9, 5:30 to 10 p.m., at the aquarium at 12033 Lone Peak Parkway. It's an after-hours event, and your daytime admission doesn't cover it. You need a separate Lantern Festival ticket.
A few rules on the aquarium's page matter more than the ticket price:
- The 5 p.m. exit. If you buy both a daytime and an evening ticket, you have to leave the building by 5 p.m. and come back in at 5:30. You can't stay over from an afternoon visit.
- The 9 p.m. habitat close. You can walk through the inside of the aquarium during the festival, but all indoor habitats close at 9 p.m. The aquarium also warns that some animals may be asleep.
- Discounts. Members get 15% off every ticket. Children 2 and under are free. Students, seniors and military get discounts at checkout. SNAP, EBT and WIC aren't accepted for this event.
Every lantern display is outside on the plaza. On a cold night, the inside of the aquarium works as the warm-up stop, and it closes an hour before the lanterns do.
Draper City's posted nightly hours for the park start with the Nov. 30 ceremony, so for the rest of November the lanterns are the light show with a set evening schedule.
Nov. 30: the park display switches on
The Tree Lighting Ceremony is Monday, November 30, 2026, from 6 to 8 p.m. in Draper Park. Everything is free. The city's schedule is short:
| Time | What happens | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 6:00 p.m. | Ceremony and light switch-on | Main stage |
| 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. | Santa | Day Barn |
| 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. | Hot chocolate and cookies | Park |
| 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. | Marshmallow roasting | Park |
The city says the event goes ahead in snow, rain or shine, but severe weather could cancel or postpone it. Updates go on the event page and are available at (801) 576-6584. If you need an accommodation for a disability, the city asks for requests at least five days ahead, which means by Nov. 25.
How one willow turned into three million lights
Draper City now describes the display as more than three million lights on trees throughout the park. It started much smaller. In a 2018 history, the Draper Journal reported that lighting the park's trees began about a decade earlier. Then-public works director David Decker wanted to bring visitors out in winter, and the first version used colored floodlights. The city later hired professional tree-lighting companies to wrap the branches.
The big willow is the centerpiece. The Journal reported that for the 2012 season, a crew switched the willow to larger LED lights, and in 2013 they added flashing "gems." In 2014, KSL reported that a crew of four or five people spent three and a half days on the tree. By 2018, the Journal counted about 500,000 lights on the willow and another million on the other trees and the bridge, and estimated the whole park took roughly 940 work-hours to light.
That 2018 count was about 1.5 million lights. The city's figure today is more than three million. If you haven't walked the park since you first moved here, it probably looks different now.
The hours almost nobody plans around
After the ceremony, the park lights are on from 5 to 10 p.m. every night through January 1. Most people know that part. Fewer know the second window on the same city page: the lights also come on every morning from 5 to 8 a.m., through the same Jan. 1 end date.
The two shows line up differently over the season. The aquarium's lanterns are only on in the evening, 5:30 to 10 p.m., and need a ticket. The park display is free and runs two windows a day: before sunrise and after dark. That means a December weekday can start with the willow on your way to work, and a Friday can end on the lantern plaza without doubling up on either.
When the park lights go off after Jan. 1, the lanterns have about a week left. The festival runs through January 9.
Everything else on the same calendar
Between the lanterns opening on Nov. 6 and the park lights going dark after Jan. 1, Draper's season also includes these dates:
- Now through Jan. 9: Aquarium Lantern Festival, 5:30 to 10 p.m. nightly.
- Through Nov. 29: The Salt Lake County Library's Draper Branch is closed for renovations and maintenance.
- Thursday, Nov. 26, 8 a.m.: Utah Food Bank's Utah Human Race at Sandy Promenade, 10085 S. Centennial Parkway, just north of Draper. The 5K costs $30, the 10K costs $35, and the proceeds go to the Food Bank.
- Monday, Nov. 30, 6 p.m.: Tree Lighting Ceremony in Draper Park.
- Friday, Dec. 4, 5 to 8 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 5, noon to 8 p.m.: Draper City's Holiday Market, held at the Day Barn, with gift vendors and visits and photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus.
- Through Jan. 1: Draper Park lights, 5 to 10 p.m. and 5 to 8 a.m. daily.
The market sits at the Day Barn, in the same park as the lights, so a Friday evening visit puts you there right as the trees come on at 5. Vendor applications for 2026 are closed. The city says it screens out multi-level-marketing products and items unrelated to the market, and it takes food vendors through a separate, limited application.
Where to eat along 12300 South
12300 South runs through the middle of Draper, and several established kitchens on it fit around both light schedules:
- Penny Ann's Cafe, 280 E. 12300 S., serves breakfast daily from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. It opens with an hour left in the park's morning lighting window.
- Aubergine Kitchen, 499 E. 12300 S., Suite A, is open 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed Sunday.
- Gourmandise Bakery & Café, 725 E. 12300 S., is open for dine-in until 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with Sunday brunch from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. On Fridays and Saturdays it stays open until the lanterns and the park lights both turn off at 10.
- Basta Pasteria, 278 E. 12300 S. #106, makes its pasta in house.
- Goodwood Barbecue Co., 133 E. 12300 S., takes pickup orders at its Draper location.
- Café Zupas, 75 E. 12300 S., is open until 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and closed Sunday.
One schedule worth taping to the fridge: the morning lights run until 8 a.m. through Jan. 1, Penny Ann's starts breakfast at 7, and the lantern tickets are good until 10 p.m. through Jan. 9.
At James Roth, we keep track of the dates that shape a Draper December for the people who live here year-round, and we film plenty of it for American Dream TV. If you'd like Draper Park's lights or the Lone Peak Parkway lanterns to show up in your next home video or listing story, Work With James and we'll plan the shoot around the hours these lights are actually on.
