Light up the 2021 holiday season with popular metro displays

Jeff Elkins, The Norman Transcript, Okla.
·4 min read

Dec. 11—The Oklahoma City metro area has a lineup of new and returning holiday light displays this season that will surely make it feel and look a lot like Christmas.

Norman residents looking to get in the holiday spirit can check out displays lighting up the winter night sky in their city or take a drive up Interstate 35 to the Oklahoma City Zoo or Yukon.

Downs Family Lights in Norman

For 15 years, the Downs family has put together a free display that literally brightens visitors' Christmas.

The family's light display, just south of Highway 9 at 2900 72nd Ave. SE in Norman, runs from 6 p.m. to midnight through New Year's Day. The display features more than 280,000 LED lights and multiple giant Christmas trees, according to the Downs Family Christmas website.

Visitors can park in the field near the display, turn off headlights and tune the radio to 99.9 FM for synchronized music using 80 control boxes.

Chuck Downs said what started as one large illuminated tree has grown into a spectacle that draws regional attention.

Setting up over 18 miles of lights is an all-fall fair beginning in September, Downs said.

While admission is free, visitors are encouraged to make a monetary or food donation to the Regional Food Bank. The family's holiday light display raised more than $50,000 and 9,000 pounds of food in 2020, according to the nonprofit's website.

Light up the zoo like it's 1992

Holiday lights are back at the Oklahoma City Zoo for the first time since 1992.

The zoo, 2101 NE 50th St. in Oklahoma City, hosts the event from 5:30 to 11 p.m. through Jan. 9. It has more than 50 light sculptures highlighting wildlife, aquatic and prehistoric animals on a driving tour through the facility.

Families can follow the drive-thru tour route, then park and re-enter the zoo for an immersive walking tour of the entry plaza, decorated with lights and synced to music.

The walking tour was designed by Miranda Family Lights of Edmond, best known for their run on the show ABC's "Great Christmas Light Fight." The family first created a light display in 2015 but decided to help the zoo with theirs after the show caused traffic issues and created disruptions with neighbors.

"We know that this is not a feasible option for all families, but it is a really fun drive-thru and walk-up experience if you are able to go," the family posted on their Facebook page.

Also in the zoo's holiday experience is the DINO SAFARI, complete with illuminated animatronic dinosaurs.

Since bringing back holiday lights Nov. 6, the zoo has seen 32,491 people come to check them out, according to a release.

"We're thrilled by both the turnout to the Oklahoma City Zoo and the positive feedback we're receiving from guests," said Dwight Lawson, executive director and CEO for the Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden, in a release. "We greatly appreciate the glowing reviews and requests that this become a continual holiday tradition for Oklahoma City."

Lawson said the event offers a way to experience the park and create holiday memories with lights, music and surprises.

Online ticket purchases are required through okczoo.org by clicking on the corresponding tab on the events section.

Christmas in the Park in Yukon

Norman residents open to a drive to the northwest metro can check out the state's largest drive-thru light display in Yukon.

The annual free event Christmas in the Park is back this year. It runs from 6 to 11 p.m. through New Year's Eve.

The display hosts a nearly three-mile spectacle, illuminated by five million lights and more than 500 displays across three connected city parks. The tour starts at Yukon City Park leading to Freedom Trail and concluding at Chisholm Trail Park.

City of Yukon Public Information Officer Jenna Roberson said the city notices an annual increase in foot traffic and general interest in the display every year, and this year is no exception.

"It [has] really become what seems like a holiday tradition for a lot of people to come out and take pictures as a family, couple or with friends," Roberson said.

Recent additions include a 30-foot red blue and green LED Christmas tree, a unicorn and a dragon, according to Yukon's website. Visitors who choose to look at the lights on foot can walk by the multiple "selfie stations" in various locations throughout the three parks.

"It's very Instagram-worthy," Roberson said. "Some of them are three-dimensional displays you can climb in and take pictures. This year, we added a Cadillac that's life size, and we have a Santa Volkswagon bus they can climb in."

Roberson said Christmas in the Park can be enjoyed from a vehicle, on foot or on the Scenic Express Train for $4.

From Dec. 15-18, park-goers can purchase a camel ride at the train station for $10 a person.

Walkers are asked to park in the lot at the north end of Chisholm Trail Park.

Jeff Elkins covers business, living and community stories for The Transcript. Reach him at jelkins@normantranscript.com or at @JeffElkins12 on Twitter.