Seasonal / Downtown
Detroit Tree Lighting
Detroit's holiday kickoff: the city's Christmas tree lights up in Campus Martius Park the Friday before Thanksgiving, with concerts, skaters and Santa. Free.
01 / The story of this place
Make time for these
Detroit's holiday season officially starts when the city's Christmas tree flicks on in Campus Martius Park. The Downtown Detroit Partnership has produced the Tree Lighting since 2004, now on the Friday before Thanksgiving, and the 2025 edition pulled in more than 120,000 people. Expect national and local acts on the main stage, star figure skaters on The Rink, and a big countdown with Santa. In 2025 a 62-foot Michigan-grown Norway spruce lit up along with more than a million holiday lights across downtown.
- Countdown with Santa and the big switch-on
- Live music on the main stage
- Figure skating shows on The Rink at Campus Martius Park
- More than a million lights downtown
- Food trucks and the holiday markets in Cadillac Square
A closer look
Photos were taken at different times; images are resized and cropped on cards.
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Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-10-01
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
Events at this place
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We have no published upcoming events linked to this place yet. That does not mean the venue has no events; check its official calendar too.
Official website & visitor information ↗Keep exploring
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