NYC is magical any time of year, especially at the holidays, when there are special FREE holiday light shows to enjoy.
Some NYC holiday light shows are already up and dazzling us. Others open just after Thanksgiving.
Here are the NYC on the Cheap choices of the four best, including one that is not free but definitely worth the admission price.
Holiday Under the Stars
This annual display is back at The Shops at Columbus Circle, in the Time Warner Center, and as mesmerizing as ever
This is the largest specialty crafted exhibit of illuminated color mixing in the world, featuring twelve 14-foot stars that hang from the ceiling of the 150-foot Great Room, or atrium.
The lights “perform” daily, changing color slowly and gracefully, from 5pm until 11pm. Stand there for a few minutes until your own favorite color arrives.
The atrium, of course, is at Columbus Circle, and the actual circle with the statue of Christopher Columbus is one of the best spots to watch the show.
Or, you could watch from inside, from the balcony overlooking the atrium. Both locations are Instagram friendly.
- Holiday Under the Stars is daily through Jan. 5
Luminaries
This annual display also returns, to the giant Winter Garden atrium in Lower Manhattan, and it is also as mesmerizing as ever
Luminaries is an installation of glowing lanterns suspended from the canopy, which change color and intensity at the direction of visitors, making this an interactive light show
There are three so-called Wishing Stations where touch-activated wishes can be sent to the canopy of lanterns above, activating a magical display of lights and colors.
Visitors are encouraged to watch light shows every hour and send wishes to the canopy above from the glowing wishing stations.
Once again, Brookfield Place will donate $1, up to $25,000, for every wish made during the holiday season to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer, a national non-profit that is committed to raising funds for research to develop new, improved and less toxic treatments for pediatric cancer.
Since Cookies for Kids’ Cancer launched in 2008, there have been more than 10,000 events in all 50 states and 16 countries. For more information, to sign up for a bake sale or purchase cookies, please visit www.cookiesforkidscancer.org.
- Luminaries is daily, Dec. 4 through Jan. 3, 2020 at the Winter Garden in Brookfield Place
Dyker Heights Christmas Lights
Every year, this Brooklyn neighborhood shines with a FREE Christmas light spectacular that glows and blinks for blocks.
Nearly every house gets into the spirit. Since the traffic is often gridlocked, the advice is to park nearby and walk. Or take the D train and walk
The center of the bright lights action is Dyker Heights Boulevard, from 83rd St. to 86th St., from sundown to whenever an individual homeowner decides to turn off the lights, usually around 9 or 10pm.
Directions:
- Take the D Train towards Coney Island to the 79th Street stop inn Brooklyn.
- Exit near intersection of 79th Street and New Utrecht Avenue.
- Go northwest on 79th Street towards 16th Avenue, to Dyker Heights Blvd.
NYC Winter Lantern Festival
Okay, this one isn’t free, but it is so unique and spectacular that we are including it.
This light show returns to Staten Island’s Snug Harbor Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden for the second year, honoring a holiday tradition that goes back to ancient China.
There are more than 1,000 LED light installations, some as large as 30 feet high, including animals such as pandas, which reflect traditional Chinese culture.
There also are dinosaurs, also is popular with children in China, along with lantern hippos, birds in cages, and other animals and flowers, too. The lanterns are made in China, created by more than 100 artisans.
- Winter Lantern Festival is open Wed.-Sun. (closed Mon/Tues), through January 12, 2020.
- Tickets are entry timed, but you can stay as long as you like
- Depending on day and time, prices are $23-$25 for adults, $18-$20 for Seniors/Military/Students with a valid ID, and $15-$17 for children ages 3-12.
- Parking is an additional $20 at the center, or $10 at the Empire Outlets
- Click here to book tickets with no service fee
Who Dat says
Great article - but the Check These Out! section is wasted by showing outdated events of NYC Free Tree lighting from 2017 and 2018. Ya think other current winter events would be better if listed there to keep viewers on your site looking for events. Just a thought.
Evelyn Kanter says
The “Check These Out” section below a current article is determined by an algorithm by Google and/or WordPress which chooses simiilar articles, most assuredly not by me. Your point is well taken, but it is simply not in my control.
Thank you for being a http://www.nyconthecheap.com follower, but if you object so strenuously, you should contact Google and/or WordPress to fix their algorithm.