Half a million lights turn town into snow-globe

Visit during peak festivities for music, shopping, and cocoa—then return later in winter for quieter photo walks beneath glowing alpine streets.

Start date

27 November, 2026

End date

24 December, 2026 11:00 PM

Event details

From November 27 through December 24, 2026, more than 500,000 lights cover the facades, rooflines, and storefronts of Leavenworth’s Bavarian-styled Front Street in a display that runs free of charge from 6 AM to 11 PM daily. The best window for photography falls between 4:30 and 6 PM, when alpenglow from the Cascade peaks fades into the lit streetscape. Weekday visits keep the crowds manageable. Weekend programming at the Front Street Park gazebo runs 11 AM to 6 PM and includes the Marlin Handbell Ringers, a community ensemble founded in 1979 that performs on 108 English handbells, and the Leavenworth Village Voices choir, active since 1982 under director Mindy Wall. The Leavenworth Alphorns add the kind of low mountain resonance that makes the whole scene feel less like a festival and more like a village that simply never stopped being what it is.

The culinary anchor is Andreas Keller Restaurant at 829 Front Street, founded in 1989 and now run by founder David Forchemer’s daughter Heidi, serving schnitzel in underground barrel booths with live accordion. München Haus at 709 Front Street draws the outdoor crowd with charbroiled sausage and 20 specialty mustards. The Brulottes, who opened München Haus in 2001, later founded Icicle Brewing Company in 2010 at 935 Front Street, where fire pits and winter ales make a logical stop after the cold.

What the lights don’t advertise is the water. The Wenatchee River runs alongside downtown, fed from Lake Wenatchee just 21 miles upstream. Lake Wenatchee State Park grooms 50 kilometers of cross-country ski trails along the lakeshore through winter. For lake cabin stays within reach of both the river corridor and the Enchantments, search Lake.com before December weekends fill the valley.