Why Highland's Holiday Lights Are Landing in Two Places This Year
November 5, 2026
November 5, 2026
When Santa first came to Highland's Christmas event at Heritage Park, his visits took place inside the Daughters of Utah Pioneers cabin. Heaters aren't allowed in the cabin. According to a Highland City staff report, Santa found the arrangement too cold and said he would decline to take part if the event were held there again. The Highland Bell Choir also asked for somewhere warmer.
That cold cabin is one of several reasons the city's Christmas event now centers on the Town Center Splash Pad, next to City Hall on Civic Center Drive. This year the City Council has also decided not to leave Heritage Park dark. The 2026 plan puts the main gathering at the Town Center and lights at Heritage Park. In practice, that makes Highland's holiday season a short drive between two parks.
Highland's Christmas light display began in 2020 at Council's direction. It started as a light display at Heritage Park with a small lighting ceremony. In 2024 the event grew to include live "Santa's Reindeer" and a visit from Santa, which the September 15, 2026 council packet describes as very well received.
The 2025 event left Heritage Park. City staff gave three reasons, each of them practical:
Staff were allowed to move the 2025 event "with the understanding that the venue would be revisited in the future." So the move was approved as provisional, and this fall Council came back to the question.
The 2025 event added a walk-through light display with holiday music at the splash pad park. Visitors walked the lights, visited the reindeer, and picked up donuts and hot chocolate from a refreshment booth run by the Highland Youth Council. Then they went inside City Hall to see Santa and Mrs. Claus while the Highland Bell Choir played Christmas music in the Council Chambers.
The walk-through display also stayed up for the whole holiday season and drew visitors throughout December.
Staff tied the Town Center site to a larger goal. Their report notes that Highland's General Plan says the Town Center area should be revitalized "as the heart of community life, with intentional placemaking," and that the Christmas event supports that goal. The district is filling in. The Alpine-Highland-Lehi Tribune reported that Mo' Bettahs Hawaiian Style Food opened at 10969 N Town Center on Friday, Sept. 25.
The Town Center had one clear weakness. The staff report lists only one con for the City Center, and it's a significant one: the lights can't be seen from main roads. Heritage Park is on Alpine Highway, where anyone driving by during the season sees the display.
Here is how staff compared the two sites for 2026:
| Heritage Park | City Center / Splash Pad | |
|---|---|---|
| Visibility | Lights visible to drivers on Alpine Highway | Lights not visible from main roads |
| Power | Very limited, which makes stringing lights more expensive | Outlets abundant in the splash pad area |
| Trees | Contractors say few tall-tree branches suit lighting, so they would prefer to light only trunks | Trees a manageable size for lighting |
| Footing | Walk-through ground may turn muddy in wet weather | Paved walkways suited to foot traffic |
| Santa | Community Center available, but 10400 North would need to close or guests would cross the street | Indoor venue lets guests warm up |
| Reindeer | Suitable again, since no live animals were at this year's Highland Fling | No concerns listed |
The reindeer row explains why the question came back at all. The 2026 Highland Fling had no live animals, so the health concern that pushed the event out of Heritage Park no longer applied. Staff also floated a middle option. They suggested lighting a few trees near the road at Heritage Park, with signs pointing visitors to the walk-through display at the splash pad.
On September 15, Council chose a version of that middle option. The City Council brief for that meeting says the discussion "favored a hybrid approach: holding the primary event at the Civic Center while adding lighting and, possibly, a larger 'mega tree' at Heritage Park to improve citywide visibility." Staff were told to plan on that basis.
The idea grew at the next meeting. On October 6, staff presented options for expanding lights at Heritage Park and along the roads leading to the Town Center. According to the October 6 council brief, Council gave verbal support to a $10,000 budget request from fund balance "to begin purchasing lights and decorations for Heritage Park and at least one entry road." The brief records that item as a communication, not a formal vote. The mega tree is still described as a possibility, and the city hasn't said which entry road will be lit.
The roadside lighting is new for 2026. In 2025 the Town Center display drew people in once they knew it was there. This year the plan is to make the route visible too, from Alpine Highway to the streets leading to the splash pad. Staff had already suggested lighting those streets as one way to bring more visitors to the City Center.
The same October 6 meeting included a smaller related item. Council ratified a $30,000 purchase of a used bucket truck, paid for from the parks and streets budgets. It will let staff do street light and signal work in-house and help with Christmas lighting.
On cost, staff estimated in September that the 2026 event, lights included, would cost $22,000, paid from the city's Community Enrichment line item. That was a planning estimate made before the Heritage Park expansion was scoped. The $10,000 that Council supported in October is meant to start buying decorations.
The event itself is on the city calendar. Meet Santa & His Reindeer runs Monday, November 23, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Town Center Splash Pad. The listing gives the title, time and place. It doesn't yet say whether 2025's Bell Choir, Youth Council booth or month-long walk-through will return.
Here is how it sits among the other November dates on the city calendar:
People walking dogs or running early on those two Saturdays will share the Murdock Canal Trail and the Highland Glen paths with race traffic until late morning.
The Santa evening falls on a Monday, which works for dinner nearby. Mo' Bettahs is open Monday through Saturday, 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and closed Sundays. The Tribune notes its plate lunches of kalua pig, teriyaki chicken and katsu chicken. The restaurant is in the same Town Center corridor as the splash pad.
Last year the Christmas event moved from Alpine Highway to the Town Center. This year the plan is to have the main event at the splash pad on November 23 and lights at Heritage Park along the highway.
If you have family visiting for the holidays, or you've wondered what the Town Center will look like once it's finished, I'm happy to talk through how Highland's civic center is changing. Jenny Mecham and Echelon Luxury Homes follow these changes closely all year. Schedule a private consultation whenever it suits you.
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