Holiday season in Madison, WI: 2026 lights, markets and shows

Holiday lights

• Zoo Lights at Henry Vilas Zoo opens Friday, November 20, 2026. General admission tickets are $12, children 3 and under are free, and four tickets bought in advance are $40. The zoo is at 702 S. Randall Ave.; the south gate on Vilas Park Drive often has more parking. Check the zoo's site for nightly hours and the last night.
• Holiday Fantasy in Lights at Olin Park and Turville Point is a free drive-through light show from dusk until 10 p.m. Madison Parks runs hayrides through the lights on Saturday, November 21 and Sunday, November 22, 2026, 5 to 8 p.m., for $3 a person (children 2 and under free; cash only).

The Capitol tree and downtown

• The 2026 State Capitol holiday tree, themed "The Year of the Neighbor," will be lit at noon on Tuesday, December 1, 2026, and stays up through the end of the year. Anyone can send a handmade ornament; they're due by November 20.
• While you're downtown, the Capitol is open for free tours, and the Chazen Museum of Art, MMoCA and the Wisconsin Veterans Museum are free and indoors. See our things to do in Madison guide.

Holiday markets and shopping

• The Dane County Farmers' Market Holiday Market moves indoors to Monona Terrace (1 John Nolen Drive) on Saturdays, November 21, December 5, December 12 and December 19, 2026, from 7:30 a.m. to noon (until 1 p.m. on December 5). There's no market on November 28 or December 26, and the market's winter season continues at Garver Feed Mill from January 2; see our farmers markets guide.
• Black Friday is November 27 and Small Business Saturday is November 28, 2026. It's a good weekend to shop Madison's independent bakeries, florists, galleries and shops.

Holiday shows at Overture Center

• A Madison Symphony Christmas with the Madison Symphony Orchestra: December 4, 5 and 6, 2026, in Overture Hall. Tickets run about $28 to $131.
• The Nutcracker with Madison Ballet: December 11 through December 20 in Overture Hall, about two hours long.

Buy from Overture Center's own box office or website to avoid resale markups, and allow time for downtown parking on show nights.

Around the area

• Sun Prairie's Fire & Lights Parade is Saturday, November 28, 2026, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Fire trucks leave Kroncke Drive around 5:45 p.m. and head east on Main Street, followed by a tree lighting at about 6:30 p.m. and a visit from Santa. The 2025 parade was canceled for a winter storm, so check the city's site if the weather turns.
• Maple Bluff's Holiday Parade & Tree Lighting is Sunday, November 29, 2026: Santa rides the fire trucks at 3:30 p.m., and the tree at Johnson Park is lit at 5 p.m. See our Maple Bluff guide.
• DeForest's Candlelight Hike is Friday, November 13, 5 to 7 p.m., and its community tree lighting is Thursday, December 3, 5 to 7 p.m., at Fireman's Park. See our DeForest guide.
• Oregon lights its downtown tree in early December, and Cottage Grove's Christmas in the Grove brings a parade of lights; see our Oregon and Cottage Grove guides. Middleton, Verona and other nearby towns hold their own tree lightings and holiday nights too; check each town's site for dates.

For skating, sledding and cross-country skiing once the snow and ice arrive, see our things to do in Madison guide, and for parking rules when it snows, our winter parking guide.