NEW for 2025 – the Holiday Light STROLL
The Holiday Lightshow committee has decided to change it up this year! Instead of the drive through Holiday Lightshow in Big Creek Park…..we are planning to do a Holiday Light Stroll in the brand-new Opera House Plaza located in Downtown Canton.
With it being Canton’s Bicentennial year and we have a new beautiful Plaza downtown, we invite you to come for a magical walk-through experience inside the new Opera House Plaza. Take a stroll through the sparkling light displays and celebrate the holidays in a whole new way – right in the heart of downtown Canton.
The Holiday Light Stroll will open on Friday, December 5th and run through December 28th every night from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. But on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights there will be local organizations and businesses that will be making each show a little more special! Stay tuned for more information.
The Opera House Plaza is located on the east side of the downtown square. There will be no cost to experience the Holiday Light Stroll, but there will be an opportunity to make donations.
So, to be clear, there will be no Holiday Lightshow in Big Creek Park that has been offered the last three years. The plan is to bring it back next year. We hope you will support us trying something new!
Other Holiday Events in the area
Other Holiday events that are happening in our area are:
Snowman’s Reindeer Farm – Experience the Magic of Santa’s Reindeer! Yes, real life reindeer! Must purchase tickets to visit. Did we mention Santa is there for pictures, Reindeer Railway train ride, an adorable Jolly Old Elf gift shop and so much more! Go to Snowman’s Reindeer Farm website for more details.
Main Street Merry Mingle – Canton Main Street will be hosting brand new event called Main Street Merry Mingle on Saturday, December 6th, from 4:00 p.m.-7:00p.m. in Downtown Canton. Includes special discounts in stores staying open late, pop-up vendors on the sidewalks around the square, 40&8 Trolley giving rides down to the Canton Area Heritage Center and other drop off locations downtown, CHS Madrigals will be singing inside the Canton Harvester Inn, and the NEW Santa Baby Christmas Bar in the outdoor patio on the corner of W. Chestnut and N. Main Street with hot and cold drinks for all the shoppers mingling around. A great night to start all your holiday shopping!
Canton Junior Women’s Club will be hosting the Santa Parade and a family night in and around Jones Park on Friday, December 5th. Head to their Facebook page for more information.
Local Shopping – be sure to plan some time to go shopping at our unique shops and amazing restaurants.
Back Story of how the Holiday Lightshow began
During the pandemic in 2020 it was recommended that families should not gather for the holidays and you could not go anywhere unless you could social distance (and wore a mask). Do you remember? Well, a family in Canton, actually a Father & Son decided to create a lightshow that could be displayed outside in their yard (and side of house) that people could drive up to, watch and enjoy. Everyone stayed in their cars by tuning into a radio frequency to hear the music timed to the lightshow. It was amazing! Known then as the Lindsey Light Show gained great popularity that year, so much so that it created traffic issues in their small neighborhood. So the Canton Chamber approached this son and Dad team to bring the famous Lindsey Light Show to a public location that would be able to handle a larger crowd. This is how the Holiday Lightshow in Canton was created.