Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society is swapping some of its familiar string lights for glowworms and glowing water this winter, as its annual Zoo Lights event returns November 20 through January 3 with what organizers are calling an all-new bioluminescence experience. Tickets are already on sale, and this year's layout splits the Dreher Park grounds into two distinct moods: one side keeps the traditional holiday glow, while the other leans fully into the natural world's own light show.
“This year is going to be totally different,” Mike Terrell, the zoo's General Curator and Curator of Animal Experiences, told WPTV. Terrell said traditional holiday lights will be presented on one side of the zoo, while the other side will celebrate the lights of nature, folding bioluminescence throughout the experience. Visitors can expect glowworms tucked into the trees and bioluminescence rippling through the water, according to the same report.
A Three-Chapter Walk Through the Park
Per WPTV, the new layout unfolds as a three-chapter storytelling experience. The first chapter, called the Welcome, sticks with tradition: a towering Christmas tree anchors the space with light shows every 20 minutes, a nightly menorah lighting during Hanukkah, and visits with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Guests can also write letters to Santa, decorate cookies, and pose for complimentary photos.
The second chapter, the Discovery, shifts the mood by taking guests through a polar wonderland featuring traditional African stone sculptures alongside immersive projections of polar wildlife rendered in luminous blues, violets, and greens, the station reports. The final chapter closes the night with bioluminescent pathways winding through the zoo's lush landscape. “There's gonna be bioluminescence everywhere,” Terrell said.
S'mores, Free Activities and a Longtime Favorite
Beyond the new glowing centerpiece, the event keeps some of its most popular draws intact. Terrell noted that s'mores-making remains a crowd favorite among returning guests, alongside free activities for kids and adults woven throughout the night. The event runs rain or shine, per the same account, so weather won't derail plans to catch the new bioluminescent chapter.
Zoo Lights has grown considerably since its debut. The zoo first introduced the after-hours event in November 2019 in partnership with Florida Power & Light's FPL SolarNow initiative, according to a Palm Beach Zoo Facebook post. The overall display now incorporates more than one million energy-efficient LED bulbs strung along more than 10 miles of pathways, a scale designed to minimize power usage even as the footprint has expanded, as detailed by South Florida on the Cheap.
Animal Welfare and Family-Friendly Scheduling
While the pathways glow after dark, the zoo's animal residents don't stay out for the show. South Florida on the Cheap notes that animals are sheltered in off-display night quarters during Zoo Lights to protect their natural resting and sleeping behaviors. The zoo has also built family scheduling into the holiday run, including a Zoo Year's Eve event on December 31 with hourly light-show countdowns from 5:59 p.m. to 8:59 p.m. aimed at young children who can't make it to midnight, according to The Palm Beaches.
Not every night is built for little ones, though. WPTV reports Zoo Lights welcomes all ages on regular nights but reserves special 21-and-up nights exclusively for adults. Group pricing is available for parties of 15 or more, running $19.25 per adult and $15.25 per child, and tickets are non-refundable and non-transferable. The zoo is encouraging guests who need accommodations to contact the zoo in advance at 561-547-9453, and tickets, along with preferred dates, current availability, entry times, and pricing, are sold through the zoo's official website.
Volunteers and the Business Behind the Lights
Running a display this size takes more than engineers and curators. The nonprofit zoo relies on community volunteers aged 16 and older for 4.5- to 5.5-hour evening shifts during Zoo Lights, compensating each volunteer with a free return general admission ticket, per a listing on Idealist.
The event has also mattered to the zoo's bottom line. In an April 2021 capital campaign report, the zoo disclosed that even though initial 2020 Zoo Lights attendance was capped below budget due to COVID-19 safety measures, subsequent operational adjustments helped the organization eliminate $7.5 million in debt, according to a document posted on Issuu. Seasonal light shows have since become a key revenue driver across Florida's zoological institutions, with peers like Zoo Miami also staging their own annual after-hours winter light events, as Hoodline previously reported.
Plenty of Competition for Holiday Glow
Palm Beach Zoo isn't the only draw for holiday lights fans this season. Palm Beach County hosts several competing nighttime displays, including Mounts Botanical Garden's ILUMINA: A Tropical Garden Lantern Festival, which features over 500 handcrafted silk lanterns spread across 20 acres, according to Mounts Botanical Garden. Free parking is available near the zoo's entrance for those who decide Dreher Park is their pick for the season.
Established in 1969 on 23 acres in West Palm Beach's Dreher Park, Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society now houses more than 500 animals representing roughly 190 species and draws about 300,000 visitors a year, according to the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. With this year's bioluminescent twist, the zoo is betting that even longtime Zoo Lights regulars will find something they haven't seen glowing in the trees before.
