On most open nights this December, Sleepy Hole Park at 4616 Sleepy Hole Road hosts a free drive-through light show that runs from 5 to 9 p.m. On Saturday, Dec. 19, that changes. The park closes to vehicles, and the Festival of Lights becomes a show you walk through.
You can drive through on any open night. The walk-through happens once a year, and it keeps landing on the same Saturday. If you plan your December around one evening at Sleepy Hole Park, this is the one to put on the calendar first.
The Saturday Before Christmas, Three Years Running
Suffolk Parks & Recreation added the walk-through night recently. Hampton Roads Messenger shared the city's announcement of the first one, which it called the "Inaugural Festival of Lights Walk-Through Night," on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, from 5 to 9 p.m. It came back on Saturday, Dec. 20, 2025, again with the park closed to vehicle traffic. This year it falls on Saturday, Dec. 19. The date appeared in a Suffolk Parks & Recreation release back in February.
| Year | Walk-through night | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | December 21 | Last Saturday before Christmas |
| 2025 | December 20 | Last Saturday before Christmas |
| 2026 | December 19 | Last Saturday before Christmas |
If you're hosting visitors that weekend who don't know Sleepy Hole Park, it's the one night of the season when they can walk the displays without sitting in a car line.
What the First Walk-Through Night Looked Like
The 2024 walk-through was more than the same lights with the cars removed. Suffolk Parks & Recreation built it with The Obici House next door at 4700 Sleepy Hole Road, and the evening started there. Hampton Roads Messenger printed the city's lineup for that first night:
- Free parking at The Obici House
- An Outdoor Holiday Market with handpicked vendors and a free gift-wrapping station
- Warm food from TW's Bistro and Mr. Yummy Buns
- Live holiday music from Hannah Jai and Corey Pavlosky
- Tours inside The Obici House, with donations collected for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
- A free carriage ride over to Sleepy Hole Park, where guests got out and toured the displays on foot
- A campfire with s'mores and a craft in Santa's workshop with elves Holly and Jingle
The 2025 announcement, also shared by Hampton Roads Messenger, described the night in broader terms: "an evening filled with festive fun, delicious food, and magical holiday spirit," free and open to everyone. The 2024 lineup above is how the first walk-through ran. For this year's parking, activities and vendors, call Suffolk Parks & Recreation at 757-514-7250 or email [email protected].
The Other 25 Nights Follow a Pattern
The walk-through night sits inside a longer schedule, and that schedule has a pattern of its own. The 2026 Visit Suffolk listing gives the dates. Every night runs 5 to 9 p.m., and admission is free for all ages.
- Friday, Nov. 27 through Sunday, Nov. 29: Opening weekend, starting the day after Thanksgiving.
- Thursday, Dec. 3 through Sunday, Dec. 6: A Thursday-to-Sunday block.
- Thursday, Dec. 10 through Friday, Dec. 18: Nine straight nights.
- Saturday, Dec. 19: Walk-through night, closed to cars.
- Sunday, Dec. 20 through Wednesday, Dec. 23: Nightly again.
- Thursday, Dec. 24 and Friday, Dec. 25: Closed.
- Saturday, Dec. 26 through Wednesday, Dec. 30: The final stretch, ending the night before New Year's Eve.
Until Dec. 10, the show runs only Thursday through Sunday. If you drive out on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday in early December, the park will be dark. From Dec. 10 on, it's open almost every night through Dec. 30. The only breaks are the walk-through Saturday and Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Last year followed the same pattern. In 2025, the show opened the day after Thanksgiving, ran Thursday through Sunday at first, and went nightly starting Thursday, Dec. 11. WAVY's 2025 coverage also noted the drive-through was closed on Dec. 20 for the walk-through. So two years in a row, the season opens with weekend blocks, goes nightly in mid-December and pauses for one Saturday on foot. That's a schedule you can plan around.
How a Free Show Keeps Coming Back
For a free event, the Festival of Lights has lasted a long time. The city called its 2025 show the sixth annual Festival of Lights. The basic idea hasn't changed: a free drive-through in a city park. Back in 2021, WTKR described a free drive-through with five themed light areas, open 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. every night. The hours now run 5 to 9, and the schedule has settled into the pattern above.
The show has also grown. 13News Now reported that the 2022 display stretched 1.2 miles with more than 35,000 lights. At walking pace, 1.2 miles is a real evening out. That helps explain why the walk-through night comes with carriage rides and a campfire.
Two groups help fund it. In 2025, Glo Fiber was the show's presenting sponsor. The Suffolk Parks & Trails Alliance also collects donations on select evenings to pay for future years of the show. The city announced that arrangement in 2023 and again in 2025. If you've driven through for free year after year, a donation to the Alliance on one of those evenings goes toward next year's show.
Two Downtown Nights on Either Side
The Festival of Lights is the longest event in Suffolk's holiday season. Two shorter downtown events, both run by Suffolk Parks & Recreation, open the season and land in the middle of it.
Suffolk's Grand Illumination kicks things off on Friday, Nov. 20, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Downtown Festival Park, 215 W. Washington St. It's free for all ages. It comes one week before the lights first turn on at Sleepy Hole Park.
The Suffolk Holiday Parade steps off Saturday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m. on Main Street and Washington Street downtown. This year's theme is "Christmas Carols," and it's free to attend. Parade night falls during the nightly run at Sleepy Hole Park, so the drive-through is open from 5 to 9 that Saturday too.
Here's the whole season in order:
| Date | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Nov. 20 | Grand Illumination, 6 to 8 p.m. | Downtown Festival Park |
| Fri., Nov. 27 | Festival of Lights opens, 5 to 9 p.m. | Sleepy Hole Park |
| Thu., Dec. 10 | Festival of Lights goes nightly | Sleepy Hole Park |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Holiday Parade, 7 p.m. | Main and Washington Streets |
| Sat., Dec. 19 | Walk-through night, closed to cars | Sleepy Hole Park |
| Wed., Dec. 30 | Final night of the Festival of Lights | Sleepy Hole Park |
The walk-through night is the hardest date on that list to make up if you miss it. The downtown events each happen once in a single evening, and the drive-through gives you 25 nights. The walk-through gives you one Saturday, and it hasn't moved off the last Saturday before Christmas in three years.
If you're hosting family in Suffolk this December, or getting to know Sleepy Hole Road after a recent move, I'm glad to share what I know about how the season comes together across the city. Whether you have questions about your neighborhood or want a friendly local contact for the holidays, Michelle Stanek is happy to help. Let's Connect.
