Tulsa's 2026 light season opens over eight days. Magical Lights Adventure starts on Nov. 20, Rhema Lights in Broken Arrow on Nov. 25, and Philbrook and the Tulsa Botanic Garden both on Nov. 27. The way you get into each one is very different. The two gardens sell timed tickets for select nights, and the Botanic Garden says some nights will sell out. Rhema is free and open every night. The garden calendars also thin out right around Dec. 24 and Dec. 31, when most families have guests in town. If you plan around that, December gets a lot easier.
The season, show by show
| Display | Opens | Last night | Hours | Cost | Entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magical Lights Adventure, Tulsa Raceway Park | Nov. 20 | Jan. 3, 2027 | 5:30–10 p.m. Sun–Thu, 5:30–11 p.m. Fri–Sat | Early bird $22.45 per vehicle, before fees | Drive-through, date and time slot chosen at purchase |
| Rhema Lights, Broken Arrow | Nov. 25 | Jan. 1, 2027 | From 6 p.m. Nov. 25, then 5:30–11:30 p.m. nightly | Free | Walk in |
| Philbrook Festival Nights | Nov. 27 | Dec. 27 | 5:30–9:30 p.m., select nights | $27 adult, $10 youth | Timed entry, 6–8:30 p.m. |
| Botanic Garden of Lights | Nov. 27 | Dec. 30 | 5–9 p.m., select nights | $20 adult, $9 child | Timed entry window |
The two garden shows set the plan for the season, since they are the only ones where a specific night can run out.
The gardens sell entry times, not just nights
At the Philbrook Festival, a standard ticket comes with an entry time between 6 and 8:30 p.m., in 30-minute steps. Adults pay $27 and youth 17 and under pay $10. Members pay $12, and member youth pay $3. Santa visits run through Dec. 23. The $7 Take & Make kit is an art project your family assembles at home. Philbrook has also brought back Festival Films. These are holiday movies shown in the museum auditorium on Saturdays and Sundays, and a film ticket includes the Festival Night that follows it. For a weekend outing with kids, that one ticket covers the afternoon and the evening.
The Botanic Garden of Lights has wider windows. You pick a 5, 6, 7 or 7:30 p.m. entry, arrive any time in that hour, and stay until 9. General admission is $20 per adult and $9 per child, and children 2 and under get in free. Member prices are $16 and $8. The garden's own page puts it plainly: "Some nights will sell out." A donor also covers free admission, while supplies last, for families receiving SNAP or WIC benefits and for Oklahoma foster families. Those tickets are redeemed at the door.
The Botanic Garden schedules a different program for each night of the week, so the date you book shapes the visit:
- Jingle & Jazz on Sundays, 6 to 8:30 p.m.
- Sounds of the Season on Thursdays, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., with carolers on Dec. 3 and Dec. 10 and Tulsa Opera on Dec. 17
- Silent Night Sensory on Wednesday, Dec. 2, an evening with no soundtrack for guests who want a quieter visit
- Character Nights from Dec. 26 to Dec. 30
- Santa from Nov. 27 through Dec. 23, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.
If a grandparent or anyone else in your group prefers a calmer outing, the Dec. 2 sensory night and the Thursday Tulsa Opera date are the two to book first. Each happens only once, or on a single night of the week. Accessible parking is at the Visitor Center.
The garden calendars have gaps, and they fall on busy nights
The Botanic Garden's open nights come in blocks. They are Nov. 27–29, Dec. 2–6, Dec. 9–13, Dec. 16–23 and Dec. 26–30. The garden is closed Dec. 24, Dec. 25 and Dec. 31. Until the week before Christmas, the blocks run Wednesday through Sunday, so most Mondays and Tuesdays are dark. Philbrook's season ends with its Dec. 27 Festival Night.
That leaves a short list of nights with fewer choices than you might expect:
- Thanksgiving night, Thursday, Nov. 26. Neither garden has opened yet. Rhema and Magical Lights are both running.
- Christmas Eve and Christmas night. The Botanic Garden is closed. Rhema stays open, and Magical Lights runs through the holiday week.
- Dec. 28 through New Year's Eve. Philbrook's season is over, and the Botanic Garden closes on Dec. 31. Rhema runs through Jan. 1 and Magical Lights through Jan. 3.
So if relatives are coming the week of Christmas, the ticketed gardens may already be done or closed for the nights they're in town. If the gardens matter to your family, early December gives you more nights to choose from. Once the gardens are booked, the open-every-night shows cover the rest.
Rhema runs every night, and this year it adds a train
Rhema Lights opens at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 25. After that it runs nightly from 5:30 to 11:30 p.m. through Jan. 1, and admission is free. The display covers the 110-acre Rhema Bible Church campus at 1025 West Kenosha Street in Broken Arrow and has run every year since 1982. The organizers say it draws almost half a million visitors a year. Along the walk you'll pass a gingerbread family set among lollipops and gumdrops, a 50-figure nativity scene, and a light display of trees and snowflakes synchronized to music. Parking on campus is free.
The new piece this year is the Rhema Express, a train ride through the light displays. Rides cost $10 for ages 13 and up and $5 for ages 4 to 12, and children 3 and under ride free. There are no reservations. Boarding is first come, first served, and both cards and cash are accepted. You board across the street from Rhema Park, at the circles on the south end of Rooker Memorial Auditorium. The train runs from 6 to 11 p.m. on opening night and from 5:30 to 11 p.m. every night after. The lights stay on until 11:30, so a late visit can still include a walk after the last train.
Because nothing is booked ahead, Rhema can be a same-night decision. That makes it a good fit for nights when the weather turns, plans change, or guests arrive a day early.
Magical Lights is the stay-in-the-car option
Magical Lights Adventure at Tulsa Raceway Park is a drive-through show. It opens first, on Nov. 20, and closes last, on Jan. 3. Hours are 5:30 to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5:30 to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The show advertises more than 900 feet of light tunnels, including new wreath, bow and deer-jumping tunnels.
Early-bird pricing is $22.45 per vehicle for a single visit and $71.99 per vehicle for a season pass, both before fees. The ticket page says admission is good any night, but the ticket terms also ask you to choose a date and time and arrive in that slot. Check the slot on your confirmation before you drive out. On a cold night, or for a passenger who would rather not walk a long path, you can see the whole show from the car.
Daytime plans for the same weeks
A few free or low-cost daytime events fit around the evening shows:
- Gathering Place: Free photos with Santa at Williams Lodge on Nov. 28 and 29, 2 to 6 p.m. Scan the QR code on-site to join a virtual line instead of standing in one. On Dec. 19, Global Gatherings: Holiday Edition runs from 1 to 5 p.m. at PSO Woodland Gardens.
- Tulsa Zoo: Sweets with Santa is Saturday, Dec. 12, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tickets are $12 general admission and $7 for members, and children 1 and under get in free. The event ticket does not include zoo admission, and tickets were still marked "coming soon" at last check. Parking is $6 for nonmembers and free for members.
Put together, Saturday, Nov. 28 could be Santa photos at Gathering Place in the afternoon and a timed entry at Philbrook or the Botanic Garden that evening. That is the first weekend both gardens are open.
A booking order that fits most families
- This week: Decide whether the gardens are on your list. If they are, book the special nights first, like the Dec. 2 Silent Night Sensory, the Dec. 17 Tulsa Opera Thursday, or a Philbrook Festival Films weekend.
- Early December: Use the Wednesday-through-Sunday garden blocks while there are plenty of dates to choose from.
- Holiday week: Save Rhema and Magical Lights for when guests are in town, especially Dec. 24, Dec. 25 and the nights after Philbrook's Dec. 27 finale.
- Any night: Rhema needs no ticket, so keep it as the backup plan all season.
Over 20-plus years of helping families in Broken Arrow and Tulsa, I've learned that the holidays are often when relatives first visit a new home, or come back to help a parent think through a move. If you're hosting this season and want help with a local plan, or have bigger questions about the year ahead, Joanna Ford is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.
