Gahanna's Holiday Lights Celebration lasts three and a half hours. The lights it switches on stay up for six weeks. Once Santa sets off the fireworks over Creekside Plaza on Sunday, Nov. 22, the city keeps the display running every evening through Monday, Jan. 4. That's 43 nights of a lit-up Creekside Park, and the opening Sunday is the most crowded and least typical of them. This year there's a new Nepali and Indian restaurant on Granville Street, so a weeknight walk through the lights can come with a dinner plan that didn't exist last December.
The Sunday everyone circles
The kickoff is the part most people already know, and it's worth going to at least once. Visit Gahanna's event page lists the 2026 celebration for Sunday, Nov. 22, from 3 to 6:30 p.m. in the Creekside District. Nth Degree is the presenting sponsor and KEMBA Financial Credit Union is a premier sponsor. The city's calendar listing puts the event at Creekside Plaza, 117 Mill Street.
Everything is free and starts at 3 p.m. The lineup includes live music and dance on the Holiday Stage, trackless train rides, a Giant Snow Globe photo spot, a petting zoo, a snow room, snow axe throwing, a festive silent disco, face painting, caricatures, and a stiltwalker. Santa arrives by 6 p.m. to light the tree and set off the fireworks.
That's a lot packed into one afternoon on a few blocks of Mill Street. Parking and street arrangements change from year to year, so check Gahanna.gov and VisitGahanna.com before you head out on the 22nd.
The 43 nights after it
The kickoff page mentions the display that follows only briefly. Visit Gahanna's page invites visitors, once the tree is lit, to "take a stroll through Creekside Park and enjoy the dazzling light display totaling more than 300,000 lights." The City of Gahanna's October 2026 newsletter gives the full run. The Holiday Lights Display at Creekside Park & Plaza starts Monday, Nov. 23 and ends Monday, Jan. 4.
Some calendar sites list slightly different start and end dates. The city's newsletter is the one to plan around.
| Nights | Hours | Count, Nov. 23 to Jan. 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday through Thursday | 5 to 9 p.m. | 31 nights |
| Friday and Saturday | 5 to 10 p.m. | 12 nights |
| Total | 43 nights |
The breakdown changes how the season looks. Nearly three out of four display nights fall Sunday through Thursday. Those are the nights when the same 300,000-plus lights are up without a stage, a train line, or a fireworks crowd, and the window still runs four hours each evening. A Tuesday in early December gets you the full display. Opening Sunday gets you the full display plus everyone else.
The weekend nights have their own advantage, an extra hour until 10 p.m. Those 12 late nights include both Saturdays when the Gahanna Historical Society is holding events a few blocks away, which comes up below.
A new table on Granville Street
The biggest change to a lights evening this year is a new restaurant. Durbar Nepali and Indian Cuisine now occupies 64 Granville St. NBC4 reported in May that the restaurant was taking over that address from the previous tenant, which had closed May 1, and that the owners were aiming for a June 19 opening. The opening came later than planned. Columbus Business First reported on Oct. 9 that Durbar had opened in Gahanna, describing it as a Reynoldsburg destination for Indian fare and Himalayan "soul food" that is expanding. That makes this the restaurant's first holiday season on Granville Street.
According to NBC4, owners Sagar Dhital and Himod Sharma opened their first location at 7621 E. Main St. in Reynoldsburg in 2020. The two restaurants share largely similar menus, with curries, tandoori dishes, biryani, momos, and naan. NBC4 also reported that the Gahanna location would have a full bar. Dhital told NBC4 the partners chose Gahanna because of "the growing community and the support we have already received from people in the area."
Dinner first and lights second works especially well on weeknights. The display turns on at 5 p.m. and stays on until 9, so there's time to finish a meal and still walk the park before it goes dark.
The rest of the walkable dinner list
Durbar is the newcomer, but it isn't the only place close to the lights. Visit Gahanna's directory lists these spots in and around the Creekside District:
- Barrel & Boar Creekside at 121 Mill Street, Suite 130
- Nostalgia Brewing at 81 Mill Street, Suite 150
- Signatures Mill Stone Tavern at 94 Mill Street
- Upper Cup Gahanna at 121 Mill Street
- Cafe Creekside at 53 Granville Street
- Marlow's Cheesesteaks at 93 N. High Street
Restaurant hours often shift around the holidays, so call ahead before you plan a night around one of these, especially near Christmas and New Year's.
Two December Saturdays that stack
The lights also overlap with a separate set of holiday events, run by the Gahanna Historical Society at the Gahanna Historical Settlement, 101 S. High Street. Both of its December dates fall on Saturdays, when the display runs until 10 p.m. Each one can fill a whole day with the lights at the end.
Saturday, Dec. 5. The day starts at McCorkle Park, 200 McCutcheon Road, where the Santa Race 5K and Little Reindeer Dash steps off at 9 a.m. The race is presented by Visit Gahanna. From noon to 2 p.m., the Historical Society hosts its Victorian Christmas Celebration at the Historical Settlement. The Creekside display comes on at 5 p.m. That leaves a long afternoon for an early dinner on Mill or Granville Street before the walk.
Saturday, Dec. 12. Santa at The Log House starts at 6 p.m. at the same Historical Settlement address. The lights will already be on when it starts and stay on until 10 p.m. A visit to the Log House, dinner, and the lights can all fit into one evening without moving the car.
Here's the full season on one page:
| Date | What | Where | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun., Nov. 22 | Holiday Lights Celebration | Creekside Plaza, 117 Mill St. | 3 to 6:30 p.m. |
| Nov. 23 to Jan. 4 | Holiday Lights Display | Creekside Park & Plaza | 5 to 9 p.m. Sun.–Thu., 5 to 10 p.m. Fri.–Sat. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Santa Race 5K and Little Reindeer Dash | McCorkle Park, 200 McCutcheon Rd. | 9 a.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Victorian Christmas Celebration | Gahanna Historical Settlement, 101 S. High St. | Noon to 2 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Santa at The Log House | Gahanna Historical Settlement, 101 S. High St. | 6 p.m. |
Before the lights go up
There's still a month before the tree lighting, and a few dates in between are worth knowing. Trick-or-treat in Gahanna is Thursday, Oct. 29, from 6 to 8 p.m. The Veterans Day Ceremony, presented by the Gahanna Veterans Memorial Committee, is Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 11 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park.
If you're looking for a daytime stop before the season starts, the city has been replacing the playground at Ashburnham Park in the Villages of Gahanna. The new playground is twice the size of the old one, costs about $237,000, and is the fifth playground Gahanna has rebuilt since 2020. The city expected work to wrap up by the end of October, weather permitting. Academy Park is a different story. It is closed for construction into early winter 2027, but the Big Walnut Trail stays open from the west end of Meadowside Court, and the Mountain Bike Trail can still be reached from the Big Walnut Trail.
After Nov. 22, the Creekside lights come on at 5 p.m. every evening until Jan. 4, so any free weeknight in December can be a lights night.
If friends or family ask you what Gahanna is like this time of year, the team at Castro Group is happy to share what we know about the Creekside District and the rest of the city, in English or Spanish. Whether you're showing off your neighborhood or just thinking ahead, let's connect.
