Holiday lights will dazzle across Omaha
The free 2024 Holiday Lights Festival will run from Nov. 30 through Jan. 1.

Omaha’s annual Holiday Lights Festival celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. The free lights displays will spread both seasonal cheer and awareness of hunger in the community.
“Our displays will light up the Old Market business district with festive tree lights and giant snowflakes,” Maggie Winton, a spokesperson for the festival, told the Nebraska Independent in an email. “We will also have tree lights along North and South 24th Street to bring holiday cheer to those vibrant corridors of North and South Omaha.”
The annual lighting ceremony will take place at 6 p.m. on Nov. 30 at the Gene Leahy Mall at The RiverFront, led by Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert and emceed by STAR 104.5 radio host Terri McCormick.
From Nov. 30 through Jan. 1, the lights will be on nightly across four sections of the city:
- Old Market, from 10th Street to 13th Street, Farnam Street to Jackson Street.
- North Omaha, on North 24th Street, from Burdette Street to Ohio Street.
- South Omaha, on South 24th Street, from L Street to Q Street.
- The RiverFront, covering all 72 acres.
A free family festival will take place Dec. 8 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Durham Museum, Heartland of America Park at The RiverFront, the Joslyn Art Museum, the Omaha Children’s Museum, the Omaha Police Mounted Patrol Barn, and the downtown branch of the Omaha Public Library, with free transportation between venues provided by Ollie the Trolley.
The celebration will culminate in a New Year’s Eve fireworks show at 7 p.m. on Dec. 31 downtown, near 10th and Cass Street.
According to a press release, the Shine the Light on Hunger campaign will run a food drive for the Food Bank of the Heartland throughout the festival. Nonperishable food donations will be able to be dropped off at any Baker’s supermarket in the Omaha area and at arts and cultural organizations throughout the city.
Last year, the campaign collected more than 9 million meals for the food bank.
For more information on the festival, visit its website at https://www.holidaylightsfestival.org.