Walk­way of Lights — Overview

The famed rep­u­ta­tion has held strong. In 2015, Mar­i­on, Indi­ana ranked #2 of the ​“8 Best Cities for Hol­i­day Lights and Dec­o­ra­tions,” by Liv­abil­i­ty — Jour­nal Com­mu­ni­ca­tions, Inc, sole­ly cit­ing the city’s annu­al Walk­way of Lights dis­play. https://livability.com/topics/things-to-do/8‑best-cities-for-holiday-lights-and-decorations

If you’ve nev­er had the breath­tak­ing expe­ri­ence of our world-renowned Walk­way of Lights, you now have some­thing to add to your buck­et list. The annu­al Walk­way of Lights boasts dis­plays total­ing over two and a half mil­lion lights that bright­en the night sky for more than two miles begin­ning at Bal­lard Field, then down­town, up Riv­er Dri­ve, and cul­mi­nat­ing into a win­ter won­der­land sur­round­ing the Gar­dens of Mat­ter Park. 

“Mir­a­cle on 3^rd and 4^th Street” Down­town Event

The annu­al down­town event, ​“Mir­a­cle on 3^rd and 4^th Street,” kick off the Walk­way of Lights sea­son with huge fan­fare. This all-day event hap­pens on the Sat­ur­day pre­ced­ing Thanks­giv­ing each year.

The event turns Mar­i­on, IN into a ​‘Hall­mark movie’ with craft ven­dors through­out many build­ings down­town, car­ol­ers in the his­toric dis­trict, live rein­deer on the cour­t­house square, dancers, fea­tured musi­cians, and famous hol­i­day char­ac­ters includ­ing Frosty, the Grinch, and many more.

In 2025, San­ta Claus arrived into town on a heli­copter to greet fam­i­lies before set­tling into his rock­ing chair in City Hall.

Walk­way of Lights — Details

Once inside Mat­ter Park, you’ll enjoy a vast vari­ety of won­der­ful and plen­ti­ful light dis­plays from the com­fort of your own vehi­cle. You may also walk along the Mis­sissinewa River­walk from the same start­ing point into the Gar­dens area if you choose, while stay­ing a safe dis­tance away from the vehi­cles going through the Lights.

Spoil­er Alert! Some crowd pleasers include the 96-foot River­boat and Fire-breath­ing Sea Drag­on. In addi­tion to tra­di­tion­al Christ­mas dis­plays such as can­dy canes, cot­tage scenes, and Old Man Win­ter, you’ll be delight­ed by some unique and unex­pect­ed dis­plays such as Dinosaur Land, an ​“Indi­ana Bicen­ten­ni­al” torch, and but­ter­flies and flow­ers along the beau­ti­ful But­ter­fly Gar­den. Find all dis­plays inside the brochure avail­able at the Parks Office in City Hall or vis­it the offi­cial web­site, walk​way​oflights​.org

The Walk­way of Lights also fea­tures a Gift Shoppe with hot cocoa, baked goods, and gift items.

Our Walk­way of Lights com­mit­tee works hard to present the lights each year in part­ner­ship with the City of Mar­i­on through dona­tions from a long list of spon­sors and the ded­i­ca­tion of com­mu­ni­ty volunteers.

Admis­sion

There is a $5 admis­sion per vehi­cle per vis­it into the Walk­way of Lights. A $25 sea­son pass is also avail­able at the toll booth dur­ing hours of oper­a­tion. The toll booth is locat­ed under the bridge on Mat­ter Park Road as you enter Mat­ter Park (1 Mat­ter Park Cir­cle, Mar­i­on, IN, 46952).

Hours of Operation

The Walk­way of Lights is open from 6 – 10pm begin­ning the Sat­ur­day before Thanks­giv­ing (weath­er per­mit­ting) through the end of December.