Indianapolis Christmas Events
& The Circle of Lights 2021

Indianapolis Christmas Events & The Circle of Lights 2021

Kicking off the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Holidays on the Circle will take place every Saturday throughout December and feature holiday performances, signature treats and festive music will fill Monument Circle.

Indianapolis turns it up a notch for the holiday season with the Circle of Lights. It’s a display featuring the world’s largest Christmas tree at the Soldier’s and Sailor’s Monument.

Christmas Tree Lighting & Circle of Lights

• The tree lighting ceremony takes place on the day after Thanksgiving, Friday November 26th with over 100,000 people joining in the festivities. If you don’t feel like braving the crowd, the tree stays lit all the way through New Year’s Day. Keep it classic with a stroll around Monument Circle during the Circle of Lights to see the Soldiers and Sailors Monument transformed into a giant Christmas tree made of more than 4,000 lights.

Walk Through the Festival of Trees

• Walk through a holiday forest featuring more than 80 elaborately decorated trees at this Indiana History Center event, held from Mid November until the new year. Don’t miss the “30-foot show-stopper” in Eli Lilly Hall.

Marvel at the Winterlights

• Some of the most spectacular light displays in the city can be found at Newfields, the 152-acre campus surrounding the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Here, guests get the opportunity to marvel at millions of dancing lights as they stroll along the garden paths on their own accounts. Holiday tunes, hot cocoa, and s’mores by the fire make the event even more festive.
• Also at Newfields, the Oldfields–Lilly House (a U.S. National Historic Landmark that opened in 1913) gets a festive makeover ahead of the holidays each year. The Great Hall will become “a scene from a snow-covered park, complete with trees, a gate, and snowballs,” Newfields says, while the dining room will be “frozen over with icicles.”

Carmel Christkindlmarkt

• Head to nearby Carmel, just 30 minutes drive and explore the market for traditional foods and gifts, then go ice skating on the outdoor rink. Don’t forget to check the schedule for live music acts.

Jingle Rails

• Jingle Rails is a wonderland of model trains, which chug along nearly 1,200 feet of track. They go through tunnels, over bridges and trestles, and past scale models of national landmarks, such as Mount Rushmore and the Grand Canyon. The display also includes local landmarks like Lucas Oil Stadium and Union Station — all decorated for the holidays.

Lights at the Brickyard

• Catch the 3 million lights spanning around the famous oval at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.  Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra: “Yuletide Celebration” An annual tradition at Hilbert Circle Theatre, “Yuletide Celebration” features tap-dancing Santas and a reading of “Twas the Night before Christmas.”

The Gay Men’s Chorus

• Mischievous elves, marching toy soldiers, and even dear old Saint Nick will grace the stage at the Indianapolis Men’s Chorus holiday spectacular, “The Magic of Christmas” during Christmas Week.

Here are the Hotels we recommend that keep you close to all the action,

Conrad Hotel,  Hyatt Regency,  Hilton Garden Inn  Bottleworks Hotel