New Plymouth has the best free summer light festival in the country, and it starts just before Christmas. If you are anywhere near Taranaki over the holidays, plan a night around it.
TSB Festival of Lights: 19 December 2026 to 24 January 2027
For 37 nights, Pukekura Park is lit with light installations along its paths, lakes and bush, with live music and entertainment on most evenings. It is free.
- Dates: Saturday 19 December 2026 to Sunday 24 January 2027.
- Where: Pukekura Park, in the middle of New Plymouth.
- Last summer the festival drew about 162,500 visits over five weeks, and more than 45,000 visitors came from outside Taranaki.
- It is powered by renewable electricity from the solar farm at New Plymouth Airport.
- The programme includes a children's festival during the day, outdoor cinema and a New Year's Eve event.
- TSB Festival of Lights
Tips for families
- The lights come on at dusk, about 8.30pm to 9pm. Arrive a little before to walk in while it is still light.
- Wear walking shoes. The paths are long and some are steep. Main routes suit prams.
- The row boats on the lake have been lit at night in past years, and children love them.
- Take a jacket. The park cools down under the trees.
- Weeknights are quieter than Saturdays and New Year's Eve.
- Pick up a free printed programme from the council, the isite or the airport.
Christmas at the Bowl
The Bowl of Brooklands, the outdoor stage beside Pukekura Park, hosts Christmas at the Bowl in December: a free carols concert on the grass. The 2026 date had not been confirmed when we wrote this. The summer concert Rock the Bowl is on 29 December 2026.
New Plymouth Christmas Parade
The parade runs through the central city on a weekend at the end of November or the start of December. Last year the mayor took part dressed as the Grinch. Check the council's events page for this year's date.
More to do in a Taranaki December
- The Coastal Walkway, flat and good for bikes and scooters, with Te Rewa Rewa Bridge as the turning point.
- A swim at Ngāmotu Beach or Fitzroy Beach, which is patrolled in summer.
- Brooklands Zoo, free and next to the Bowl.
- Christmas parades in the smaller Taranaki towns, listed on each district council's events page.
Make it a road trip
The festival is the reason many families holiday in Taranaki between Christmas and New Year. Book accommodation early for that week.
See what other cities have planned in our national guide to Christmas events.
Bring Santa home afterwards
Parades and lights are for crowds. The moment children remember is the one that is only for them. Santa can ring your phone, ask for your child by name and ask what they would like for Christmas. You choose the day and the minute, so it can ring as you get home from the parade or the lights.