The company behind the Adventure Park at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center has sued Virginia Beach, its entertainment contractor and the aquarium foundation, arguing the city's new Holiday Trail of Lights illegally competes with its own holiday attraction just hundreds of yards away. Outdoor Ventures Virginia Beach LLC filed the lawsuit and is asking a judge to block the city's show from opening on November 20.
Two Light Shows, One Stretch of Woods
According to The Virginian-Pilot, Outdoor Ventures owns and operates the Adventure Park, including Owl Creek Landing, a canopy-walk attraction in the woods behind the aquarium's south building that opened in 2025 as the second phase of a ropes course dating to 2014. The company planned to debut Lumi SkyWalk there on November 20 as well, an evening display described as an experience where the forest tells a story through light and sound, with adult tickets at $23 and children's tickets ranging from $13 to $18. The lawsuit was later amended in October 2026 to add Beach Events, which operates the city's show.
The city's Holiday Trail of Lights, meanwhile, is a walkable replacement for the decades-old drive-through Boardwalk display, moving the show onto the aquarium's nature trail. As reported by WHRO, both lights shows were scheduled to open on the same day, November 20. The new attraction winds through seven themed areas, according to the station's earlier coverage, including a Light Fall Forest with strands suspended up to 35 feet overhead and a Glowing Grove featuring 20-foot illuminated trees, dancing arches and shimmering snowflakes.
Damages Sought — and Disputed Figures
Outdoor Ventures is seeking up to $10 million in lost profits from the city, $10 million in damages from the aquarium foundation, and $1 million from ImGoing, according to the Virginian-Pilot's reporting. WHRO reported the total ask as $20 million, while WTKR put the combined figure at up to $21 million across the three defendants — a discrepancy the outlets have not reconciled. The city had budgeted $1 million for its Holiday Trail of Lights, per the Virginian-Pilot.
Chris Boynton, Virginia Beach's deputy city attorney, pushed back hard on the claims against the city. The station's report quotes Boynton saying, “Our initial assessment, as to the claims against the city, is that it is completely without factual or legal merit.”
A Noncompete Clause and a Shrunken Tower
At the center of the dispute is an agreement that Outdoor Ventures says protects the park from competing attractions within 50 miles, per WTKR's reporting. The lawsuit argues the city's light show and Lumi SkyWalk are both ticketed, walk-through outdoor experiences running during the same holiday season and situated only a few hundred yards apart, and that they target the same visitors at the same times.
The suit also claims the city delayed Owl Creek Landing's opening and financially strained the project by restricting the height of its lookout tower at the request of the U.S. Navy over security concerns, according to WTKR. Outdoor Ventures alleges the proposed Nautilus Lookout Tower was cut from roughly 125 feet down to its current 65 feet as a result. WHRO reported that a 2024 foundation meeting discussed a nighttime light-story experience. WTKR reported that Outdoor Ventures alleged it was asked not to operate Lumi SkyWalk at a July meeting.
The city's new walkable show replaces the Holiday Lights at the Beach drive-through display, which ran for 31 years before it was retired. Daily Press reported that 21,000 vehicles passed through the Boardwalk show in its final season, traffic the city says strained the Boardwalk itself and shortened the structure's lifespan. Outdoor Ventures is asking a judge to block the city's show from opening on November 20.
