Columbus's holiday season gets its official kickoff this Friday when Easton Town Center flips on its lights for the annual Grand Illumination, centered on a 56-foot tree and what the shopping and entertainment district calls two million lights strung throughout the property. The celebration is set for Friday, November 13, with the tree lighting expected around 7 p.m.
What's Planned for Friday Night
According to Easton Town Center, the Mistletoe Market will run from 5 to 8 p.m., offering a stroll past local makers, artisans and small businesses before the main event. Around 7 p.m., Santa is set to help flip the switch, illuminating the 56-foot tree along with what Easton's own event page describes as two million lights across the property. Experience Columbus, meanwhile, describes the display as featuring over two million lights illuminating Easton for the season, a figure that varies slightly from Easton's own count.
The myfox28columbus.com report notes Easton Town Center sits in Columbus, Ohio, a detail worth repeating for visitors from outside the immediate area planning their trip to 160 Easton Town Center, per the address listed by the Columbus Dispatch. The Dispatch also describes the festivities as including music and family-friendly activities, plus what it calls the ideal backdrop for holiday photos once the lights come on.
A Tradition Two Years Running
This isn't Easton's first rodeo with holiday lighting spectacles. The shopping center held its Grand Illumination on Nov. 22, 2024, according to ABC 6, which reported the property was adorned with 2 million lights that year as well. That 2024 celebration also featured a Christmas Train on display and an appearance by Santa Claus, the station reported, suggesting this year's festivities will follow a familiar seasonal script even as the specific date differs by more than a week from the 2024 event, held two years earlier.
Easton's holiday programming has also included more than tree lighting and markets in recent years. The property hosted a holiday drone show in 2024 at The Yard at Easton, featuring 100 drones that formed holiday shapes including a snowflake and a snowman, according to the seed facts behind this report. The following year, Easton's holiday programming expanded further: a 2025 Holiday Drone Show was scheduled for Thursday, December 11, according to Columbus Navigator, which described a synchronized performance featuring hundreds of drones running twice, at 7 p.m. and again at 8:15 p.m., inside a broader event window of 6 to 9 p.m.
More Holiday Events on Easton's Calendar
Beyond the Grand Illumination, Easton holds an annual Menorah Lighting to mark the second night of Hanukkah, according to Experience Columbus, which describes a massive menorah being lit as part of the tradition. The organization's listing does not specify this year's date for that lighting. For now, the Grand Illumination on Friday stands as the confirmed start to Easton's 2026 holiday season, with Santa, the Mistletoe Market and a two-million-light display drawing Columbus families to the district as temperatures drop and the countdown to Christmas begins.
