NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — The 2023 NlightN Holiday Event Series in Newport News kicks off Thanksgiving day.

Pronounced “enlighten” the series will feature three light-filled main events:

Celebration in Lights is two-mile drive through the woods and waterways in Newport News Park. New this year is a 36-foot tall silhouette of the USS Newport News.

  • Nov. 23 – Jan. 1, 5:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. nightly
  • Newport News Park
  • $15 per car Mon. – Thurs.
  • $18 per car Fri. – Sun.
  • $85 per bus (every day)

Lights at the Fountain gives visitors a chance to take a holiday stroll around City Center’s five-acre fountain plaza at Oyster Point. New this year is OPTIK, an interactive art installation that utilizes light, sound, and movement to create immersive, multi-sensory experiences in City Center at Oyster Point. 

  • Nightly Light Show: Dec. 2 – Jan. 1, 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.
  • Holiday Tree Lighting & Festivities: Dec. 2, 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.
  • City Center at Oyster Point
  • Free admission, free parking

ARTech Lights at Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center features animated light and sound that plays every half hour on the holiday tree from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is free. View more information on the Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center website.

  • Nightly Light Show: Dec. 2 – Jan., 5 pm. – 9 p.m.
  • Special Event: Dec. 9, 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.
  • Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center
  • Free admission, free parking

Other holiday events in Newport News include:

  • Dec. 8, 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.: Holiday Frost at the Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center; free admission, but online registration is requested.
  • Dec. 9, 1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.: Homemade Holiday Jazzle at Pearl Bailey Library
  • Dec. 9, 4 p.m. – 9 p.m.: Hilton Village Gingerbread Celebration & Holiday Parade at Hilton Village (Warwick Boulevard and Main Street historic area)
  • Dec. 9, 11 a.m., 3 p.m., and 5 p.m.: A Hip Hop Holiday Carol at Downing-Gross Cultural Arts Center. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased in advance online.

For more information on the NlightN Holiday Event Series, visit www.nnparks.com/NlightN or call 757-926-1400.