On Friday, Nov. 20, the Giant Oak Tree in Centennial Commons lights up between 4 and 9 p.m. The Rink at Royal Oak opens the same night, with Santa, live music, skating performances, food trucks and the Beacon of Light Awards. After that, downtown's official holiday program goes quiet for two weeks. It comes back on Friday, Dec. 4, and runs three weekends in a row, ending Dec. 20.
Last year was different. The city's newsletter announced that Royal Oak Holidays was "back for 5 weekends of holiday fun." It started with the Lighting of the Park on Nov. 21, 2025, and ran straight through the shopping season. This year the season has a different shape. You get one big opening night, then a quiet stretch carried by the attractions that run on their own schedules, then three packed weekends in December. To plan your calendar well, you need to know which is which.
Why Last Year Ran Five Weekends
The five-weekend version came out of a cancellation. Royal Oak used to hold Winter Blast, a three-day event in early February. In an April 28, 2025 City Commission agenda item, the city said it was dropping the event and gave the reason:
"due to unpredictable winter weather and fluctuating attendance, this event will be discontinued."
Winter Blast's best-known features moved into the holiday program. These included the zip line, music in heated tents, an ice-sculpture weekend, a free skating weekend and outdoor rides, all spread over five weeks. The city said the goal was to keep foot traffic going through a critical shopping period.
For 2026 the program is three weekends. The May 18, 2026 City Commission agenda item sets out the plan: a tree and park lighting on Nov. 20, then programming Dec. 4–6, Dec. 11–13 and Dec. 18–20. It also lists holiday lodge tents, a holiday market and the return of the Royal Oak Cookie Crawl. The same document lists a proposed $142,500 sponsorship from the Downtown Development Authority and a proposed $75,000 contribution from the city. It notes that sponsorship for 2025–26 was reported at about $225,000. The item does not say why the schedule got shorter. The production company, Jonathan Witz & Associates, still produces and runs the event series.
The Two Weeks the Downtown Program Skips
The official site lists nothing between the Nov. 20 lighting and Dec. 4. Three things keep running anyway.
The Rink at Royal Oak opens Nov. 20 and runs every day through Tuesday, Feb. 16. Skating costs $10 on weekdays before 6 p.m. and $12 from Friday at 6 p.m. through Sunday. Skate rental is $5. Hours:
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday–Thursday | Noon–9 p.m. |
| Friday | Noon–11 p.m. |
| Saturday | 11 a.m.–11 p.m. |
| Sunday | 11 a.m.–9 p.m. |
The rink also has a longer track record than the holiday program around it. The 2025 commission item says the rink once drew 25,000 skaters, and that the city and Jonathan Witz & Associates have run it together since the 2022–23 season. The holiday program changes length from year to year. The rink's run stays the same.
Wild Lights at the Detroit Zoo opens Saturday, Nov. 21, the night after the park lighting. During the two quiet weeks it runs five nights: Nov. 21 and 22, then Nov. 27, 28 and 29, the Friday-through-Sunday after Thanksgiving. Gates open at 5 p.m. The zoo stays open until 10:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and until 9 p.m. on other nights.
The Royal Oak Farmers Market at 316 E. 11 Mile Road keeps its regular Saturday hours, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., through November and December. The Sunday Antiques & Collectibles Market runs 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The last Farm Fresh Friday of the year is Friday, Oct. 30, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. The city's November and December market calendars don't list any more.
On Thanksgiving weekend in Royal Oak, then, you can skate downtown on Friday, catch the Saturday market in the morning and go to Wild Lights that night. None of those three depends on the downtown program's schedule.
What Wild Lights Added This Year
Wild Lights has the most new features of anything on the calendar, and most of them come from the zoo's own building work. The Fred and Barbara Erb Discovery Trails, a 7-acre area, opened to the public in May. Planet Detroit reported the opening on May 28. The trails include Treetop Crossing, a goat encounter yard, the Senses Trail and Little Sprouts. This season the eastern section of the trails is lit for the first time.
The zoo's Wild Lights page lists the rest of what's new:
- An Igloo lounge for ages 21 and up, with live music, passed appetizers and two drinks, sold as a $23 add-on
- Color, Fly, Butterfly, an art experience
- Holiday-themed virtual reality
- New lit animal sculptures
- A souvenir cocoa cup shaped like a lightbulb
Tickets cost $17 to $25 online and $27 at the gate. The Total Experience package is $60, and members get 10% off. Parking is $8 per vehicle. Because online prices start lower than the gate price, it pays to buy ahead, especially if your group is going on a Thanksgiving-weekend night.
The Weekend Everything Starts at Once
After two quiet weeks, everything starts within about 24 hours. The steps below run in date order:
- Thursday, Dec. 3, 4–9 p.m. The Holiday Magic Marketplace fills the Farmers Market with more than 60 vendors.
- Friday, Dec. 4. The first downtown weekend begins. Wild Lights reopens the same night and runs Dec. 4–6.
- Dec. 10–23. Wild Lights runs every night, covering both of the remaining downtown weekends, Dec. 11–13 and Dec. 18–20.
- Dec. 26–31 and Jan. 2–3. Wild Lights finishes its season after downtown's program ends. The zoo is closed Dec. 24, Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.
On each downtown weekend, the program's site lists skating, a holiday market with 20 local artisans and businesses, visits with Santa, horse-and-wagon rides and the Holiday Lodge. The full program also includes the Cookie Crawl, a toy drive, visits from the Grinch and ice sculptures, all free. Last year these events were spread over five weekends. This year they fit into seventeen days. Those three weekends will likely be busier downtown than last December's were, and the earlier weeks quieter.
The full schedule for Nov. 20 isn't out yet. The organizers' page still reads "full schedule of events coming soon." Check stage times before you go.
A Woodward Fixture Closes First
One part of this holiday season is missing before the calendar even starts. Sign of the Beefcarver at 27400 Woodward served its last meals on Sunday, Oct. 25, closing its final location after nearly 70 years. The Detroit Free Press reported that owner Jay Joliat pointed to high food, labor and energy costs and lingering effects of the pandemic. ClickOnDetroit covered the crowds who came out during its final days. When Wild Lights opens on Nov. 21, the building on Woodward will already be closed.
At Christopher Hubel, we tell the stories of homes near Centennial Commons, 11 Mile and Woodward through the places around them, from the rink to the market. If your house sits a few blocks from the Giant Oak Tree, let's tell your home's story.
