Enjoy Canada’s foremost illumination festival in Niagara Falls as we capture the magic of the holiday season!
The Winter Festival of Lights, Canada’s largest FREE outdoor light festival, is the most captivating of Niagara Falls attractions. Spectacular displays with millions of lights and larger-than-life displays may be found throughout the tourism districts.
Celebrating 40 Years! November 12, 2022 to February 20, 2023
The Niagara Winter Festival of Lights returns this year with animated light installations and amazing projections – all of which will leave you spellbound! The festival literally shines up the entire Niagara Falls destination with its brilliance and dazzles people with its luminous joy.
The Niagara Winter Festival of Lights is FREE and open to everyone! It takes place November 12th 2022 to February 20th, 2023 along 8 km of the Niagara Parkway and within Queen Victoria Park, Dufferin Islands, and various tourist areas throughout Niagara Falls including: Clifton Hill, the Victoria Centre, Fallsview Boulevard, and Lundy’s Lane. Visitors should come out early and often to catch all the lighting arrangements throughout the festival.
The Niagara Falls Winter Festival of Lights has evolved in recent years with new lights, displays, entertainment, and signature events. Feel comfortable visiting the 40th annual event with wide-open outdoor spaces ideal for physical distancing measures. Take a walk through the parks, drive along the festival routes, and view the spectacular lights from the local restaurants and hotels.
FIREWORKS SCHEDULE
November: 12, 18-19, 25-26 at 8:00pm
December: 2-3, 9-10, 16-17, 23-24, 26-31 at 8:00pm
December 31 * NYE at 12:00am
January: 1-7, 13-14, 20-21, 27-28 at 8:00pm
February: 3-4, 10-11, 17-20 at 8:00pm
WFOL FALLS ILLUMINATIONS
Every night during the Festival, a freshly designed Falls Illumination, created expressly to commemorate WFOL’s 40th anniversary, will also light up the Falls.
This unique illumination display is inspired by the Winter Festival of Lights’ colour palettes and movements. Every evening, the powerful American and Canadian Horseshoe Falls come alive with this tribute to the natural splendour all around us.
The display is part of the Falls’ normal nightly illumination, with the six-minute lighting show playing three times on the hour, beginning at 6pm, 7pm, and 8pm during the Festival.
RECOGNTION
The Winter Festival of Lights has grown into one of North America’s largest and most recognized holiday light shows, attracting millions of visitors annually and hundreds of motor coach tours each year.
Numerous honours from the event and tourist industries have been given to the Festival, including the prestigious Events of Distinction Award from Festivals and Events Ontario, Best Volunteer Program, Top Festival/Event in Ontario, and Most Innovative Partnership (FEO). Additionally, the Winter Festival of Lights has long been acknowledged by the American Bus Association (ABA) as one of its Top 100 Internationally Recognized Events.
Each year the festival is committed to keeping the Niagara Winter Festival of Lights: family friendly, free to attend and open to everyone. So bundle up and celebrate the power of light and community!
NEW FOR THIS YEAR
This year’s Festival will continue to grow to 101 nights. The Dufferin Islands’ customary holiday loop will be accessible from November 12 to January 8, with all additional illuminations along the Niagara Parkway and BIA areas lighted during the Festival season.
- 2022 marks the introduction of new themed exhibit spaces and sites inside the BIAs.
- Every night, WFOL will have a new spectacular illumination of the Falls.
- On weekends and during the Christmas season, free indoor family entertainment returns.
- NEW HOT CHOCOLATE PATHWAY
- In December, you can get free photographs with Santa.
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
On weekends, there is live entertainment! Enhance your Festival experience by enjoying family-friendly entertainment along the Festival route. The new indoor entertainment will be ideal for warming up and having additional family fun. Keep an eye out for the whole event schedule.
MYSTICAL DISPLAYS OF LIGHTING
Three million lights and spectacular displays
Niagara Falls is being transformed into a Winter Wonderland!
Young people and others who are still young at heart will be amazed by the extravagant displays and sparkling lights. Make the most of your winter vacation by participating in your favourite activities at Niagara Parks, on Clifton Hill, and in other parts of the city. Make new memories with family and friends while carrying on the wintertime tradition.
FESTIVAL MAP
Between November 12, 2022, and February 20, 2023, Niagara Falls will be illuminated for 101 nights as part of the 2022–23 Winter Festival of Lights.
EVENTS
Family-friendly entertainment events
Since it began 40 years ago, the Winter Festival of Lights at Niagara Falls has become a beloved winter vacation destination for friends and family. The Festival has grown throughout the years by adding additional light shows and programmes. With so much to see and do, there’s always a good incentive to visit again and take in the Festival throughout the course of the 101 nights!
The 40th Anniversary promises even more pleasure for guests! Keep checking for all the information
- Throughout the month of December, 40 nights of FREE indoor family entertainment will be offered at a variety of host sites on weekends and at night.
- Every evening, the Falls are specially illuminated.
- Free photographs with Santa at the Niagara Falls Hot Chocolate Trail in December, sponsored by Ontario Power Generation
- Misty Kids Coloring Contest
CONTEST FOR PHOTOS
At this year’s Festival, share your festival memories for a chance to win a Winter Getaway in Niagara Falls experience.
Share Your Festival Memories for a Chance to Win a Niagara Falls Winter Getaway! Niagara Falls Tourism wants to hear about all of your Winter Festival of Lights memories, and you could win an overnight vacation to this year’s Festival! For a chance to win, share your Winter Festival of Lights images from the previous 40 years on Instagram by tagging @winterfestivaloflights and using the hashtag #wfol40. View the complete contest rules here.
HOW TO ENTER:
Post your Niagara Falls Winter Festival of Lights photos on Instagram by tagging @winterfestivaloflights with #wfol40 for your chance to win. Full contest details at WFOL.com
2022 DISPLAY ROUTE
Watch this page for more info, coming soon!
CLIFTON HILL
Clifton Hill is generally lit up year round, but will be boosted by additional light displays during the festival. Warm white lighting with strands hanging down will adorn many trees in this area, making it look like Spanish Moss. Located at the bottom of Clifton Hill in Oakes Garden Theatre will be a grouping of beautifully lit spiral trees and bright accent lighting. Best of all, Clifton Hill is also home to numerous year-round attractions such as the Niagara SkyWheel and the Wizards Golf.
At the corner of Victoria Ave. and Clifton Hill, travelers will discover many light displays! Additionally there are a pair of arches above the Clifton Hill district entrance at both Ferry St. and Victoria Ave.
Clifton Hill Favorites
Catch other “must see” Festival favourites including displays like the: The Passage, Zimmerman Fountain, Oakes Garden Theatre, SkyWheel Post Mounted Displays, Noah’s Ark, the 2 storey tall Canada/US flag, the Royal Canadian Mounties, 3-D wildlife presentations, the Skylon Tower illumination, Parks Floral Showhouse and Queen Victoria Park’s Path of Trees.
FESTIVAL PARKING
There is plenty of parking just off of Clifton Hill that extends to the Skylon Tower. Easily accessible to all attractions and viewing the incredible light displays.
For directions to this parking lot, click the image below:
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
Enjoy the most popular Illumination Festival in Canada in Niagara Falls as we capture the winter’s magic.
In 1982, the Niagara Falls Winter Festival of Lights was established. With over 1 million annual visitors, we are today delighted to be the largest lighting festival in Canada and the most prestigious in all of North America.
HISTORY
The Niagara Falls Canada Visitor and Convention Bureau, now known as Niagara Falls Tourism, the City of Niagara Falls, the Niagara Parks Commission, and a number of private businesses in the Niagara Falls tourism industry joined forces to create the Winter Festival of Lights in 1982.
The Festival was started as an effort to lengthen Niagara Falls’ summer-only tourist season, which had existed for more than a century. The Festival’s initial season featured a modest assortment of lights displays close to the Falls that attracted a respectable 250,000 visitors. A trip to Niagara Falls became rapidly a yearly winter tradition for family and friends as the Festival displays evolved and audience sizes increased each year.
For the “Enchantment of Disney” event, which featured over 20 animated displays of Disney Classics across Queen Victoria Park and an opening ceremony featuring Disney characters, the Winter Festival of Lights teamed up with Disney in 1992. Sadly, the Disney exhibits were taken down in 2013 since Disney chose to restrict character appearances to their theme parks.
The Festival started a nightly parade of lights with illuminated floats from 1998 to 2006.
The Festival adopted new themes following the Disney era, such as a Korean Lantern display, art installations, and interactive light shows. The Winter Festival of Lights nearly increased in size in 2021 from an average of 54 nights to 101 nights, more than doubling its collection of lights in 2020.
CURRENT
From mid-November through Family Day in February, Niagara Falls is transformed into a kaleidoscope of dazzling colour by the Winter Festival of Lights. Along the Niagara Parkway’s journey through the Dufferin Islands and into the tourist areas of Fallsview Boulevard, Lundy’s Lane, and other areas, millions of glittering lights, captivating displays, and interactive experiences continue to enhance the yearly winter tradition.
The Festival continues to develop its themed display sections such the Royal Promenade, Frosted Falls, Enchanted Forest, and Great Canadian North with a focus on offering fun for all ages with family-friendly exhibits and entertainment. More than 50 larger-than-life illuminations, including Canadian wildlife displays, the two-story Zimmerman Fountain, a gingerbread home, a 60-foot light tunnel, a castle, and more, may be seen along the Niagara Parkway.
Niagara Falls Tourism, together with the Tourism Partnership of Niagara, the Niagara Parks Commission, and the local Business Improvement Areas, presents the Winter Festival of Lights.
*For more information on the Ontario Power Generation Winter Festival of Lights please visit www.wfol.com*