Behind the Belgrade Senior Center at 92 East Cameron Avenue, a walking path will soon be lit with strings of lights. It will also have a giant ornament for photos and a pair of Memorial Lights Tunnels. The lights come on at dusk. On winter weekdays they also come on before most people leave for work, because the Belgrade Community Coalition's Light Park page lists two daily windows: dusk to midnight, and 6 a.m. to dawn.
The park opens November 24 and stays lit through January 8. Counting both ends, that's 46 nights. Most of the Festival of Lights happens on that path, on ordinary evenings, at a building that serves meals to older neighbors every weekday. Saturday, December 12, gets the most attention, and it's also the only day the festival spreads across town.
A tradition from 1996, rooted at the Senior Center
The Belgrade Chamber of Commerce started the Festival of Lights in 1996. The Belgrade Community Coalition now runs it with its partners and sponsors. The festival schedule has three dates, and two of them happen at the Holiday Light Park.
The host building is already busy before any lights go up. In a report prepared for the November 9 City Council meeting, Senior Center manager Lisa Beedy wrote that the Center expected to serve about 1,500 Meals on Wheels and 850 congregate meals in October. She added that those numbers usually rise as the weather turns colder. So the park sits next to a kitchen that gets busier through the same weeks the lights are on.
Here's how the season breaks down:
- November 24 to January 8: Holiday Light Park lit nightly on the Senior Center walking path
- November 29: "Christmas Is Coming to Belgrade" with the Senior Center and the Belgrade Chamber Orchestra
- December 12: Holiday Market, Jingle Jog 5K, Get Ugly Christmas Outfit Contest and Holiday Hoopla, at four different spots in town
- December 17 to January 8: Memorial Lights Tunnels display named ornaments
Thursday, November 12: last day for the lower Jingle Jog price
The first deadline is today. The Jingle Jog 5K costs $20 on RunSignup, and the price goes up after 11:59 p.m. MST on November 12, 2026. The race starts and finishes at the Belgrade Mercantile Building, 11 W. Main Street. The Coalition organizes it, and the race supports BelGREAT.
The Coalition says the 5K is open to "runners, walkers, strollers, skippers, and hoppers of all ages." Every runner in festive gear is automatically entered in the Get Ugly Christmas Outfit Contest after the race. So if you sign up tonight, you're also signed up for the costume contest, whether you meant to be or not.
The Coalition is also asking for volunteers to help set up the Light Park. Before November 24, that's the main thing anyone can do to help the park open on time.
November 24 and 29: a quiet start
The season opens with Flip the Switch Night on Tuesday, November 24, at 6 p.m. Neighbors gather at the Senior Center, count down, and switch on the park for the season. The Coalition describes it as "a relaxed, low-key evening to enjoy the sparkle of the holidays." It falls on a weeknight, two days before Thanksgiving.
Five days later, the Senior Center hosts its own event. Beedy's council report lists "Christmas Is Coming to Belgrade" on November 29, 2026, presented with the Belgrade Chamber Orchestra. It includes live music, a spaghetti dinner, crafts for sale, hands-on crafts and photos with Santa. The orchestra's events page describes free performances by small groups from the orchestra and local vocalists.
The same report gives the Center's holiday meal dates. Thanksgiving dinner is November 20 and Christmas dinner is December 22, each with seatings at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. With the Thanksgiving dinner, the lighting, the November 29 event, Memorial Lights Night and the Christmas dinner, the building has five holiday dates between November 20 and December 22.
December 12: the one day the festival spreads across town
On the second Saturday of December, the festival moves away from the park. The Senior Center isn't on the day's schedule at all. Four events run at four addresses:
| Time | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Belgrade Holiday Market, 100+ local vendors | Belgrade High School Special Events Center, 220 Spooner Road |
| 10 a.m. | Jingle Jog 5K | Belgrade Mercantile Building, 11 W. Main Street |
| 11:30 a.m. | Get Ugly Christmas Outfit Contest | Rhino Lounge |
| 5 to 7:30 p.m. | Holiday Hoopla | Main Street, downtown Belgrade |
The Holiday Market is the longest event of the day, running six hours at the high school's Special Events Center. Vendors and anyone with questions can email [email protected]. The market runs through the morning, so the 5K and the costume contest both happen while it's open. Someone who runs at 10 a.m. and stays downtown for the 11:30 contest can still get to Spooner Road with hours left to shop.
The day ends on Main Street. The Coalition describes Holiday Hoopla as a free, all-ages hometown celebration. People walk Main Street, visit downtown businesses, check out local vendors and organizations, and listen to seasonal music.
December 12 is the busiest day of the season. It's also the only day the Holiday Light Park isn't part of the schedule.
December 17: the park changes
The last scheduled event changes the Light Park itself. From December 17 through January 8, the Memorial Lights Tunnels display ornaments bought in the names of loved ones. That's 23 nights, which is half of the park's season. Anyone who walks the path in early December sees the tunnels without names. Anyone who walks it the week after Christmas will see them filled.
Memorial Lights Night is Thursday, December 17, at 6 p.m. The Coalition describes the ceremony this way. A local pastor gives a message of hope, local choirs sing, and everyone shares a moment of silence. Then attendees walk through the Light Park and the tunnels, where their loved ones' ornaments are on display.
Ornaments cost $20 per person, not per couple, in the first year a loved one is honored, and $10 each year after that. Because of that pricing, the tunnels are built to grow from year to year. A family that adds a name this December pays less to keep it in the tunnels next year.
After December 25
The Light Park stays lit until January 8. Its last eight nights fall in January.
Those weeks have no scheduled events at the park. The memorial ornaments are still up, along with the giant ornament photo spot. The Light Park page still lists the 6 a.m. to dawn window, and the Memorial Lights page says the park can be visited at any time.
If you're planning a holiday get-together this season, the walking path behind the Senior Center is a good place to bring out-of-town guests on any of those 46 nights. For questions about Belgrade or the wider Gallatin Valley, Carissa Maus (Paulson) is a Montana native who knows these traditions well. Schedule a free consultation whenever you're ready.
