The Waterway's Holiday Lights Now Come With Thursday Markets and Friday Fireworks

The Woodlands' holiday season on The Waterway used to be easy to plan. You went to Lighting of the Doves on the Saturday before Thanksgiving and maybe made one more stroll before New Year's. This year has more nights to choose from. Two events are new for 2026. One is a holiday market open Thursday through Saturday evenings. The other is a series of three Friday nights in December with live music and fireworks over the water. Both add reasons to visit on nights besides the opening weekend.

The timing follows a big season. In the 2025–26 season, the main Holiday on The Waterway corridor logged more than 209,000 pathway trips. That was nearly 74% more than the year before, according to The Woodlands Township.

Last season's numbers explain this season's calendar

The 74% jump came in a single year. The Township also counted nearly 39,000 free trolley trips through the district over the same 2025–26 season. The official Holiday on The Waterway site says trolley rides are first-come, first-served and that 6 to 8 p.m. can be very busy. It suggests riding earlier or later.

In October, the Township named Entergy Texas the presenting sponsor, so this year the event is billed as Holiday on The Waterway – Powered by Entergy. The Township said the partnership will help it keep growing the event while keeping it free. The new programming shows where that growth is headed, and it is spread across the calendar.

The display has the same basic shape. More than one million lights run along The Waterway every night from the Saturday before Thanksgiving through the first weekend of January. This season that means Nov. 21, 2026, through Jan. 3, 2027. The pieces include oversized snowflakes, ornaments, gift boxes and light tunnels. You can also see the lights from the water by renting a swan boat from Riva Row.

Thursdays now have a reason of their own

The Market at Holiday on The Waterway is labeled "New This Year" on the event's official site. Vendors will sell gifts, seasonal finds and holiday treats along the lights. It runs Nov. 21 through Dec. 19, Thursdays through Saturdays, from 5 to 9 p.m., and it is closed on Thanksgiving Day.

Opening night falls on Saturday, Nov. 21. Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, Nov. 26, so the first regular Thursday is Dec. 3. After that come Dec. 10 and Dec. 17. Those three Thursdays are the only weeknights when the market is open, and none of them has a fireworks show or a festival.

Fridays in December build to fireworks at 8:55 p.m.

The second new event is Waterway Winter Nights. Visit The Woodlands calls it a sister event to Lighting of the Doves and lists it as new this year. The Woodlands Township Parks & Recreation presents it at Waterway Square, 31 Waterway Square Place, on Fridays, Dec. 4, 11 and 18, from 7 to 9 p.m. Admission is free.

Each night has live music with popular hits and holiday favorites. At 8:55 p.m. there is a seven-minute fireworks show over The Waterway, sponsored by Visit The Woodlands and held weather permitting. On-site vendors include Sorriso Modern Italian Kitchen, so dinner can happen at the square instead of before you arrive.

Each of those Fridays is also a market night. That makes Dec. 4, 11 and 18 the busiest evenings of the regular season. The market opens at 5 p.m., the music starts at 7, and the seven-minute fireworks show starts at 8:55.

The opening stretch still stacks three nights together

The new weeknights don't replace the season's traditional start. This year's opening events fall on three nights in a row, beginning the evening this post goes live.

1. Thursday, Nov. 19: Market Street. The 19th Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony runs from 6 to 8 p.m. at 9595 Six Pines Drive, according to My Neighborhood News. From that night through Dec. 31, Market Street in Lights plays a three-minute show set to holiday music every hour from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m.
2. Friday, Nov. 20: The Woodlands Ice Rink. The rink opens with a Season Opening Event and Ribbon Cutting from 6 to 9 p.m. at 2005 Lake Robbins Drive, next to The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. The night includes a choreographed ice-dance performance, Santa, balloon artists and face painters. Regular admission applies.
3. Saturday, Nov. 21: Lighting of the Doves. The festival runs from 3 to 8 p.m. at Town Green Park, 2099 Lake Robbins Drive, and admission is free. Cold Shot plays the Celebration Stage at 5 p.m. Santa arrives, and the doves are lit and fireworks go off at 7 p.m. Snow slides need a $5 wristband. Texas Children's Hospital–The Woodlands is the Official Santa Sponsor.

That Saturday is also the first night of the lights and the first night of the market. The season's busiest opening night now has one more event on it.

How the rest of the season lines up

After Thanksgiving, the season repeats every week. Here is how the new events fit with the fixed dates through mid-December:

The Glow and Go 5K on Saturday, Dec. 5, takes place among the Holiday on The Waterway lights. The Township's Parks and Recreation Department produces it every December as a chip-timed race sanctioned by USA Track and Field, and runners are encouraged to wear glowing holiday outfits.

Off the Waterway, The Woodlands Mall has a separate show for shoppers. A 40-foot Christmas tree in The Courtyard runs a synchronized light and music show every 30 minutes from sunset until the mall closes, from mid-November through Dec. 31.

The rink costs a dollar more and runs past the holidays

The Woodlands Ice Rink season runs from Nov. 20, 2026, through Jan. 18, 2027. A two-hour session with skate rental costs $16 for ages 6 and up and $8 for ages 5 and under. Helmets and walkers are $10 each, and tax is extra. Last season the Township listed $15 and $7 for the same age groups, so both prices went up by a dollar.

The rink's regular schedule has the most room on weekday evenings. Monday through Thursday, the first session starts at 4 p.m. and the last at 6:30 p.m. Fridays run from 4 to 9 p.m. Saturdays start at 10 a.m. with the last session at 8 p.m., and Sundays start at 1 p.m. with the last session at 6 p.m. Hours change during school breaks and holidays, so check the rink's booking calendar before you go. The rink stays open more than two weeks after the Waterway lights come down on Jan. 3, so it still works for a mid-January outing.

Park once, then ride

More people now make repeat trips, so where you park matters more. The official Holiday on The Waterway site lists three public options near the lights:

• Town Center Garage, 2005 Lake Robbins Drive, near The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion and the ice rink
• Waterway Square Garage, 1505 Lake Robbins Drive, right next to Waterway Square and the Friday fireworks
• Orange Lot, 2204 Timberloch Place, just off Grogan's Mill Road near the Riva Row Boat House

The site asks visitors not to park at Market Street, because those spaces are for Market Street customers. On Lighting of the Doves day, Township Parks & Recreation lists free parking in the green, orange, yellow, blue and white lots along Timberloch Place and Grogan's Mill Road. ADA parking is at 2101 Lake Robbins Drive.

From any of those spots, the free Town Center Trolley stops at The Woodlands Mall, Market Street, Waterway Square and Hughes Landing. You can track the trolley live. On a Friday in December, you could ride from 5:30 to 6 p.m., visit the market before the music starts at 7, and stay at Waterway Square for the 8:55 p.m. fireworks. That plan avoids the 6-to-8 p.m. trolley rush in both directions.

Holiday traditions that draw this many people are part of what makes The Woodlands feel like home. As a neighbor who follows these changes every year, Yolanda Ingram is glad to talk about how the Town Center calendar fits into daily life near the Waterway. If you're curious what your own home is worth this season, request a personalized home valuation.