Sacramento’s holiday season downtown has two anchors, and they are worth planning around together. One is the Santa Parade on Capitol Mall. The other is the Theatre of Lights in Old Sacramento, which is the more unusual of the two and the one visitors tend not to know exists.
Handled properly, they are one day out rather than two. Here is what each actually is, and how to string them together without spending the afternoon looking for parking.
The Santa Parade
The Sacramento Santa Parade runs on Capitol Mall, at the Capitol Mall greens, and it is the city’s main Santa and holiday parade rather than a neighborhood procession. It is a daytime December event, which makes it the better half of the day for small children who will not last until an evening show.
The 2025 edition ran on December 13. The 2026 date has not been posted yet, and when it is, it will go up on the event’s Sacramento365 listing and the Mix 96 promotion around it.
Theatre of Lights, which is the one to see
Theatre of Lights takes place on K Street in Old Sacramento and it is not a light display you walk past. It is a twenty minute production. The building facades along K Street light up, live performers appear on the balconies above the street, and the whole thing is a Sacramento retelling of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, with an appearance from Jack Frost and St. Nick lighting a sixty foot holiday tree at the end.
It runs Friday through Sunday, starting on Thanksgiving Eve, with no show on Thanksgiving itself. Shows are at 6:30pm and 7:30pm on Friday and Saturday, and at 6:30pm on Sunday. In past years December 23 has carried both showings and December 24 only the 6:30pm one.
The Downtown Sacramento Partnership has confirmed the 2026 season opens Thanksgiving Eve, November 25, 2026. Show times are the same: Friday and Saturday at 6:30 PM and 7:30 PM, Sunday at 6:30 PM. December 23 has both showings; December 24 has only the 6:30 PM one. Full schedule on the Theatre of Lights page.
Making it one day instead of two
If the parade and a Theatre of Lights show fall on the same weekend, do the parade at Capitol Mall in the afternoon, then walk or take the short drive down to Old Sacramento for a 6:30pm show. That gap in between is the right window for an early dinner in Old Sac, and it means you park once for the evening rather than twice.
Old Sacramento parking fills fast on December weekends. The garages on the waterfront go first. If you are coming for the 7:30pm show, arriving during the 6:30pm one is usually the easier play.
The Details
- Santa Parade: Capitol Mall greens, a daytime December event. 2025 edition ran December 13. 2026 date not yet posted
- Theatre of Lights: K Street, Old Sacramento. A twenty minute live production, not a static display
- Theatre of Lights season: Friday through Sunday from Thanksgiving Eve, no show on Thanksgiving
- Show times: 6:30pm and 7:30pm Friday and Saturday, 6:30pm Sunday
- The finale: St. Nick lights a sixty foot holiday tree
- Produced by: Downtown Sacramento Partnership. 2026 season opens Thanksgiving Eve, November 25
- Parking: waterfront garages fill first on December weekends
Bottom Line
The parade is the one for the kids and the Theatre of Lights is the one you will actually remember. Put them on the same day, park once, and eat in Old Sac in the gap.
