Howard County doesn't open its holiday season on a single night. The 2026 season opens over three Fridays in a row. Columbia goes first on November 20, Symphony of Lights and the Ellicott City train garden follow on Black Friday, and then on December 4 both towns hold events on the same evening.
How you plan that last Friday depends on which events run once and which ones run for weeks. Columbia's holiday events are spread across most of the winter. Ellicott City's biggest holiday night happens once.
Columbia Lights the First Tree on November 20
The Merriweather District's annual Tree Lighting and Ice Rink Opening runs Friday, November 20, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Color Burst Park. The program includes music, performances by the Columbia Figure Skating Club and the Columbia Center of Theatrical Arts, letter-writing to Santa, and a countdown to the 7 p.m. lighting. It's free, but the district asks guests to RSVP. The first 100 people to check in at the Guest Services tent get a Merriweather District ornament with their family name on it.
The rink opens the same night, and its season is longer than anything else on this calendar. Howard Hughes lists the Color Burst Ice Rink at 6221 Mango Tree Road from November 20, 2026, through January 31, 2027. Admission is $12 per person plus tax and fees. Skate rental is $3, and a skate aid for children is $5. Rink tickets are separate from the tree lighting RSVP.
Ten weeks of skating takes the pressure off opening night. You can skip the November 20 crowd and still skate dozens of other nights. The tree lighting and the ornaments happen only once.
Black Friday Brings the Drive-Through and the Train Garden
One week later, on Friday, November 27, two holiday staples open on the same day. Merriweather Symphony of Lights begins its drive-through season at Merriweather Post Pavilion, 10475 Little Patuxent Parkway, and runs through January 2, 2027. Hours are 6 to 10 p.m. on weeknights and 5 to 10 p.m. on weekends. Admission is $25 per vehicle, cash or card, and on Thursday military nights you get $10 off with a valid military ID, at the entrance only. On most nights the drive-through line starts at the intersection of Broken Land Parkway and Hickory Ridge Road. The organizers say the line can change quickly and drivers should follow directions from Howard County police.
Also on November 27, the Holiday Train Garden opens at the B&O Ellicott City Station Museum and runs through January 3, 2027, during regular museum hours.
Symphony of Lights has more than 25 years of history in Columbia and uses more than 300,000 bulbs. Howard County General Hospital no longer runs it. Proceeds still support the hospital, along with the Downtown Columbia Arts and Culture Commission.
The drive-through is closed seven nights this season, and on most of those nights the route opens to people on foot:
| Date | Drive-through | What happens instead | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun., Nov. 29 | Closed | Festive Families walk-through, 5:30–7:45 p.m.; strollers and wagons welcome | $15 per person, ages 3 and under free |
| Mon., Nov. 30 | Closed | No event listed | — |
| Tue., Dec. 1 | Closed | No event listed | — |
| Mon., Dec. 7 | Closed | Tail Lights walk-through, 5:30–7:45 p.m.; leashed dogs, costumes encouraged | $15 per person |
| Thu., Dec. 10 | Closed | Lit at the Lights, 6–9 p.m.; beer and cocktail samples | $45 with sampling, $15 walk-through only |
| Mon., Dec. 14 | Closed | Jingle & Jam toddler dance party with DJ Kopec, 5–7 p.m. | $15 per person, ages 3 and under free |
| Thu., Dec. 31 | Closed | Midnight at 7 New Year's Eve celebration, listed by Howard County Tourism | 2026 details not yet posted |
The first weekend has the biggest catch. Symphony of Lights opens Friday, November 27, and drivers who come back on Sunday the 29th or the Monday and Tuesday after will find the drive-through closed. If you planned a Thanksgiving-weekend drive with visiting family, aim for Friday or Saturday. If you want to walk the lights, a Sunday walk with a stroller fits the Festive Families night.
December 4 Is the One Night Both Towns Overlap
Two events land on Friday, December 4. The Ellicott City Partnership lists Midnight Madness on Main Street starting at 6 p.m., with details still to be announced. Howard County Tourism lists the event as running from 6 p.m. to midnight, with a tree lighting and an appearance by Santa. In Columbia, the Merriweather District Holiday Market opens the same evening from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Color Burst Park.
The two events aren't equally easy to move. The market runs again Saturday, December 5, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, December 6, from noon to 4 p.m. Over the weekend it has local vendors, seasonal drinks from district restaurants, fire pits, story times and caroling. Eventeny lists market tickets at $0.00 plus any applicable fees, and parking is free at the Symphony Woods Garage, 6275 Mango Tree Road. Midnight Madness has no second date. If you want both, spend Friday night on Main Street and go to Color Burst Park over the weekend.
The 2026 Midnight Madness program hasn't been posted yet. The 2025 edition, the 47th, gives a sense of the evening's usual rhythm:
- 4 p.m.: Santa meet and greet at the historic Log Cabin
- 5:15 p.m.: Choirs from Mt. Hebron and Long Reach high schools in Tiber Park
- 6 p.m.: Tree lighting, followed by the St. Paul's Church Choir
- 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.: Santa back at the Log Cabin
- 8 p.m.: Heart of Maryland Chorus at The Wine Bin, then caroling along Main Street
- Until 9 p.m.: Holiday Train Garden at the B&O station
The 2025 page promoted shopping, dining and celebrating until midnight. If the 2026 schedule follows that pattern, the Tiber Park lighting will come about half an hour after the Columbia market opens. That timing is the main reason to choose one town for the start of the evening.
Main Street has at least one stop that wasn't open for last year's Midnight Madness. Vesper at Pike & Main, a cocktail bar and restaurant at Main Street and Old Columbia Pike, opened this summer. Business Monthly described its concept as a James Bond vibe for the suburbs. When the Ellicott City Partnership featured it in late August, it had been open about five weeks.
Parking on Main Street With Lot B Still Closed
Parking also points to Main Street on Friday, because Main Street is the harder place to park. Lot B in Ellicott City is closed to the public while the county builds the North Tunnel outfall at the Patapsco River, work that began in May 2025. The county expects substantial completion in fall 2027. Some older parking guides still list Lot B, so check the county's flood mitigation project page before you leave.
Here's what's available for an evening in town:
- The remaining public lots. Main Street itself has no parking, and Howard County Tourism lists lots A through F as free. Lot B is the exception for now.
- The overflow lots. Tourism also points visitors to the Howard County Circuit Court lot and the Roger Carter Center lot.
- Maryland Avenue. When Lot B closed, the county lifted the two-hour parking limit on Maryland Avenue for the length of the project.
Don't count on the trolley for this event. The county's free Old Ellicott City trolley runs between Lot F and Lot A on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and it adds a courthouse-lot stop on weekends with special events. Midnight Madness is on a Friday, and no Friday service has been announced for it.
Columbia is easier. The Symphony Woods Garage is free, and the market is open for two more days if Friday doesn't work.
What Fills the Rest of December
After December 4, the calendar settles back into Columbia's longer runs, plus a few dates that haven't been set yet. The Bollman Truss Bridge lighting at Savage Mill is listed as to be confirmed. Toby's Dinner Theatre opens Irving Berlin's White Christmas on November 6, the day after this post goes up, and runs it through January 10, 2027. On December 14, 15 and 16, The Collective Encore on the Columbia lakefront hosts Todd Wright's Holly Jolly Holiday Spectacular, a benefit for the Community Action Council of Howard County's HoCo Food Bank. The Kittamaqundi lakefront and Main Street in Ellicott City both stay lit all season. If you want to find more displays across the county, Howard County keeps an official holiday lights map.
Symphony of Lights has its final drive-through night on January 2, 2027. The Color Burst Ice Rink stays open longer than anything else here, through January 31.
If you're hosting relatives for the holidays this year, or have a relocating colleague trying to learn the difference between Columbia and Ellicott City, a December 4 visit to Main Street and a weekend trip to Color Burst Park will show them both. The team at Nancy Hulsman Group has been helping families settle into Howard County since 1985, and we're glad to help you plan the next step. Book a Consultation whenever you're ready.
