Before You Head To Mitch Park For Luminance, Pick Your Night
The lights at Mitch Park look the same every night from Friday, Nov. 20 through Jan. 1. Visit Edmond lists more than 40 large-scale displays for this season, on the same paths, in the same trees, for the same quarter-mile walk. The rest of the evening is what changes. That includes the crowd, the program, whether Santa is there, whether vendors are set up, and whether the ice rink across the parking lot has been open for hours already.
For a household in Timberland Creek, the trip is a short drive to Covell Road, so you get to choose your night. Edmond's busiest winter tradition is easy to enjoy once you know what each night on the calendar offers.
Luminance: An Enchanted Stroll is presented by Edmond Parks & Recreation and powered by Edmond Electric. It sits near the baseball fields on the east side of the Mitch Park YMCA, and it's open nightly from 5 to 10 p.m. through Jan. 1. It's free. The official Luminance site says parking at Mitch Park is free, the route runs about a quarter mile, and the display is walk-through only, with no vehicle traffic.
The Edmond Ice Rink sits just across the same parking lot, next to the silo at Mitch Park, 1501 W. Covell Road. The rink's posted season runs from Nov. 7, 2026 to Jan. 31, 2027, a month past the last night of the lights.
Luminance started small. Edmond Life & Leisure, in a City Source Edmond feature, reports that it began with a 2017 preview of just two displays. With support from the Edmond Chamber of Commerce, the Edmond Economic Development Authority and the Mitch Park YMCA, it officially opened in 2018 with 20 displays. By 2020 it had grown past 30 displays and drew an estimated 72,000 visitors. The same feature puts attendance at more than 80,000 people over the six weeks today.
The rink has grown in step with it. The Luminance history page counts more than 15,000 skaters at the rink in 2024, and Visit Edmond lists 2026 as the rink's 16th season.
In that same Edmond Life & Leisure piece, Edmond Chamber president and CEO Sherry Jordan explained the fast growth this way: "It's outside. It's free and family friendly and interactive." Free, outdoor and spread across six weeks also means 80,000 people don't arrive evenly. They gather on the nights with a program.
Opening night starts an hour before the lights do. Per the Edmond Life & Leisure schedule, the evening runs like this near the baseball fields east of the YMCA:
Visit Edmond lists the kickoff as 4 to 8 p.m. The City's 2026 Merry Marketplace application books vendors for those same hours on Nov. 20.
The drone show has its own story. The 2026 presenting sponsor is the Family of Brad Snelling. Snelling helped bring drone shows to Luminance's kickoff night, and his daughter, Tiffany, is carrying that work forward through a new partnership with Aerial Illuminations. "We are grateful to Brad and his family for bringing the annual kickoff-night drone show to Luminance," Parks and Recreation marketing coordinator Emily Harmon told Edmond Life & Leisure.
If you're going for the drone show, plan to arrive before 6:45 p.m. on Nov. 20. It's the only drone show on the Luminance schedule, and the displays stay lit nightly through Jan. 1.
The ice rink opens well before the lights on most days, so one visit can include both. Here are the rink's posted regular hours next to the Luminance window:
| Day | Edmond Ice Rink | Luminance |
|---|---|---|
| Monday to Thursday | 3 to 9 p.m. | 5 to 10 p.m. |
| Friday | 3 to 10 p.m. | 5 to 10 p.m. |
| Saturday | Noon to 10 p.m. | 5 to 10 p.m. |
| Sunday | Noon to 9 p.m. | 5 to 10 p.m. |
On weekdays, the rink opens at 3 p.m., two hours before the displays switch on at 5, so you can skate while it's still light and walk once it's dark. Monday through Thursday and on Sunday, the rink closes at 9 p.m., an hour before the lights go off. If you'd rather skate after your walk, check the clock before you set out.
School breaks stretch the rink's day. The rink lists noon to 10 p.m. daily for Thanksgiving Break, Nov. 22 to 28, and again for Winter Break, Dec. 20 to Jan. 2. Christmas Eve hours are noon to 5 p.m. Christmas Day and New Year's Eve run noon to 10 p.m.
Posted prices:
Rental skates run from toddler size 7 to adult size 13, while supplies last. General admission is sold at the rink, and reservations are needed only for groups of more than 15. Season passes and gift certificates are sold online, and both include skate rental. A gift certificate is good for one skating session during the 2026 season, which makes it an easy stocking stuffer for anyone who'll be skating over winter break.
Luminance has one more scheduled night. Visit Edmond lists Community Event Night for Saturday, Dec. 12, from 4 to 8 p.m. The City's Merry Marketplace application brings vendors back for those same hours. Over the years, Luminance events have grown to include vendor pop-ups, food trucks, face painters and crafts. If holiday shopping is part of your plan, Dec. 12 is the second Merry Marketplace date on the City's 2026 vendor application.
The other nights between Nov. 20 and Jan. 1 have no program at all. Those are the nights Visit Edmond tourism director Jennifer Thornton had in mind when she described the walk to Edmond Life & Leisure:
"It's a much more intimate experience than seeing lights from a car as you drive by."
On a quiet weeknight, you get the same 40-plus displays, the same quarter-mile path and the same free parking, without a stage, a marketplace or a countdown. A Monday-through-Thursday visit pairs with the 3 to 9 p.m. rink session. During Thanksgiving week and winter break, the rink's noon-to-10 hours let you skate in the afternoon and walk once it's dark.
If you want to share photos, the city's tag is #edmondlights, and the event posts on Facebook and Instagram as @edmondlights.
New this year, Edmond Parks and Recreation is bringing Luminance inside the Multi-Activity Center for a joint event with the Edmond Farmers Market on Saturday, Dec. 5. The city lists it as Meet Santa & Indoor Farmers Market at the MAC in Mitch Park. It lands on a busy day across town.
The city's "Miracle on 2nd Street" season, running Nov. 7 to Jan. 31, groups Luminance and the rink with Edmond's downtown holiday events. These dates fit around a Mitch Park night:
The city's Miracle on 2nd Street announcement lists the full season. During Thanksgiving week and winter break, the rink is open for every hour the lights are on. Luminance's final night is Jan. 1.
Edmond's holiday traditions are a big part of why north Edmond feels like home, and seasons like this one are what we love sharing with clients. If you're thinking about where your family will be next December, or you're curious about the neighborhoods closest to Mitch Park, Laura Loves Houses is glad to help you look. Schedule a Consultation.
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