Austin Trail Of Lights Preview Party Scheduled

AUSTIN, TX — In Austin, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas: Organizers of the 55th annual Austin Trail of Lights — a perennial favorite holiday event in the area — revealed details Thursday related to this year's showcase.

Powered by HEB, a preview party is set for Friday, Dec. 6 as a benefit for the Trail of Lights Foundation, presented by Austin Community Foundation.

Night Lights will take place at Zilker Park from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., featuring live entertainment. The party will offer light bites from Austin area restaurants, live musical performances from Jackie Venson and Mother Falcon, complimentary Ferris wheel or carousel rides all night; complimentary beer, wine, cocktail tastings featuring Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Bailey’s Irish Cream, Archer Roose, and more.

Participating restaurants include Bob's Steak and Chop House, Cabo Bob's, Churro Burro, Fancy Fluff ATX, Fara Coffee, Juliet's Italian Kitchen, Kellie's Baking Co., La Pera, Parkside Projects, Poke Poke, Quality Seafood, Taverna, Texas Honey Ham, Thai Fresh, Top Notch, TRACE, Truluck's and many more to come.

Tickets are $85, and can be purchased now: https://austintrailoflights.org/night-lights.

The Austin Trail of Lights will then open to the public Tuesday, Dec. 10, and will run through Monday, Dec. 23. Local Austin entertainment will continue throughout the Austin Trail of Lights with nightly acts by community and professional performers, and nightly story times by local celebrity readers. The full entertainment schedule will be announced in Mid-November and be available here: www.austintrailoflights.org.

Related story: Tickets To 55th Annual Trail of Lights On Sale In Austin

The official public Grand Opening of the Trail will be on Tuesday, Dec. 10 where admission will be free. The Trail will remain open Dec. 10 - 23 with general admission gates open at 7:00 p.m. every evening. General admission for children under 12 is always free at the Austin Trail of Lights. There will be a general admission fee on seven of the 14 nights of the event. Early entry ZIP Fast Pass, Platinum passes, parking, and shuttle tickets are also available for purchase on select nights. Calendars for ticket availability and online ticket purchases are available at www.AustinTrailofLights.org.

ABOUT AUSTIN TRAIL OF LIGHTS

Since it began in 1965, the Austin Trail of Lights has grown to be a can’t miss tradition and community-wide event that celebrates the spirit and the people that make Austin special. Starting as small community gathering around a yule log in 1965, the Austin Trail of Lights now features more than 2 million lights illuminating the park, 90 lighted holiday trees and more than 70 other holiday displays and lighted tunnels. 2019 visitors will see local merchants, new modernized displays and interactive spaces coupled with local music talent featured in conjunction with Live at the Trail.

SPECIALTY NIGHTS AND PROGRAMMING

This year, the Austin Trail of Lights will offer numerous specialty nights leading up to and during the event. Additional specialty nights will be announced as details are available.

• Dec. 1: The 53rd annual Zilker Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony; the holiday tree stands 155 feet tall and is built around one of Austin's historic moon towers.
• Dec. 2-4: The 6th Annual STARS at the Trail program, presented by Vista Equity Partners, hosts over 20 nonprofit organizations for private tours of the Trail. Since 2013, the STARS at the Trail program has benefited more than 8,000 children, families, veterans and seniors offering Austin Trail of Lights experiences on private nights.
• Dec. 6: Night Lights, the 6th Annual Preview Party, presented by Austin Community Foundation, serves as the Trail of Lights Foundation's annual fundraising event, with funds going to help keep the Austin Trail of Lights accessible for all in the community. The event will feature headlining entertainment, complimentary beverages and food from Austin restaurants and more attractions not available during the general run of the Trail.
• Dec. 7: The 8th Annual Austin Trail of Lights Fun Run, presented by St. David’s HealthCare, helps to Keep Austin Active for a night where fun runners run, jog or stroll a 2.1 mile course through Zilker Park and the Austin Trail of Lights ending in the Finish Line Festival. Guests will enjoy a fitness and wellness expo, DJ entertainment, a costume contest, photos with Santa, and more. Tickets currently available at http://austintrailoflights.org/2019-fun-run
• Dec. 10: Austin Trail of Lights Grand Opening kicks off the public run of show with a countdown ceremony and entry tunnel lighting, presentations by H-E-B, KXAN, community leaders, and a special celebration for Austin Trail of Lights sponsors. General admission on December 10th is free and open to the public.
• Dec. 11: Heroes Night, presented by Humana, will honor veterans, active military and first responders with special ZIP access for Heroes and up to 3 family members along with specialty programming.
• Dec. 12: Movies in the Park at the Austin Trail of Lights, presented by Austin Parks Foundation, brings a special screening of holiday classic Home Alone to the Trail starting with story time at 7:30p.m. and the movie starting at 8:00p.m.
• Dec. 15: UT Night, presented by The University of Texas at Austin, brings loads of Longhorn spirit to the Trail with special guests and programming along with a sea of burnt orange pride.
• Dec. 23: Closing Night

Calendars for ticket availability, special programming and online ticket purchases are now available at www.austintrailoflights.org

SPONSORS

Operating entirely with support from sponsors, donations and funds from ticket sales, the Austin Trail of Lights welcomes the return of title sponsor H-E-B for the 8th year. Additional support comes from partners including Ascension / Dell Children’s, Vista Equity Partners, Keller Williams Realty, Inc., Cirrus Logic, Austin Parks Foundation, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin Convention Center Department, Austin Community Foundation, Silicon Labs, Lori & Tito Beveridge, SHI, Samsung Austin Semiconductors and Humana.

Sponsor opportunities and custom brand activation opportunities are currently available. For information, contact visit the sponsor page here.

ABOUT THE TRAIL OF LIGHTS FOUNDATION

The Trail of Lights Foundation is an independent nonprofit corporation dedicated to producing and maintaining the Austin Trail of Lights as an authentically Austin community celebration. The organization raises funds from donations by individuals and the business community to produce and ensure the long-term sustainability of Austin's largest community celebration. It is curated in close conjunction with its long-time partner, Forefront, who provides turn-key production, programming, sponsorship, and marketing services to the foundation. The Austin Trail of Lights has remained in the top three largest Austin events since the Trail of Lights Foundation adopted the event in 2012.