Each Night at Light Up Princeton Pays a Different Local Group. Here's the 2026 Calendar.

"We really had weather issues this year," Princeton Area Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Executive Director Kim Young told the Union-Times in January, looking back on the 2025 season. "Opening night was extremely cold, windy and snowy, and we had to close four times because of the weather."

Each of those closures took a night's donations away from a local group. Light Up Princeton is free to drive through, and a different volunteer nonprofit staffs it each night. That group keeps half of whatever lands in the donation buckets that evening. Young described a closed night in the same story: "when we have to, the nonprofit volunteering that night loses out." The 2026 season runs Nov. 28 through Dec. 24 at the Mille Lacs County Fairgrounds. That makes it a string of separate fundraising nights, and the night you pick decides which group your donation reaches.

Where a free-will donation goes

Each car passes a group of volunteers who collect free-will donations and non-perishable food for the Princeton Pantry. If you don't have anything to give, the Chamber's instructions say to drive on through. Here is how the Chamber's volunteer page splits the money:

The Minnco Hot Chocolate Hut follows a similar pattern. Half of its profits go to the nonprofit working the hut that night, and the other half goes to Light Up Princeton 2027. The hut is open Friday and Saturday nights only.

The Union-Times recap shows how the split added up last year. Drivers gave roughly $8,000 during the 2025 season, and $6,200 of it went to 15 area nonprofits. The Princeton Area Pantry received $1,695 and about 1,500 pounds of donated food. Attendance fell to about 7,000 visitors in 2025, down from about 10,000 in 2024, and the paper tied the drop to the weather. Even so, the donation total held up. A thinner crowd still produced thousands of dollars for local groups, which means each open night carries real money for whichever group is holding the buckets.

Opening day runs from the Depot to the fairgrounds gate

Nov. 28 is the busiest date on the calendar. It is Small Business Saturday, opening night and parade night all at once, and events move across town as the day goes on.

1. All day: Small Business Saturday shopping. The committee organizing it includes people from Minnco Credit Union, Princeton Wine & Spirits, Marv's True Value, Princeton Community Education, the Princeton Police Department and the City of Princeton.
2. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Santaville in the Ahmdal Room of the Princeton Depot. The day includes photos with Santa and the Princeton Ambassadors, games, face painting and crafts. Pack 116 Cub Scouts serve hot chocolate and collect non-perishables for the Princeton Food Pantry. The Civic Betterment Club, the Princeton Ambassadors and the City of Princeton host it.
3. 5:30 p.m.: The Light Up Princeton Parade leaves City Hall.
4. About 6 p.m.: The lights come on at the fairgrounds.
5. 6 to 7 p.m.: Photos with Santa in the photo area at the end of the loop.

The Depot at 101 10th Ave. S. is a 1902 Great Northern Railway depot. Today it is home to the Mille Lacs County Historical Society, an all-volunteer nonprofit, so Santaville takes place inside the county's museum.

The parade's last stretch is this year's construction zone

The Chamber's parade route starts on 2nd Street at City Hall, heads east, turns left onto 6th Avenue and then goes west on 3rd Street to the main entrance of the fairgrounds. That 3rd Street stretch is the City's 3rd Street North Reconstruction Project. Work started Aug. 3 and was scheduled to finish by the end of October. The project replaces water main, sanitary sewer and storm sewer. It also adds new pavement, curb and gutter, and a parking lane. The sidewalk on the north side is being rebuilt east of 10th Street and extended out to the fairgrounds at 14th Avenue, with new pedestrian ramps.

In its Nov. 2 update, the City said crews were still finishing concrete. Next came grading, then paving, including driveway paving, and then yard grading as weather allows. The same update says crews saved some of the original WPA-era sidewalk concrete and reinstalled it along the old sidewalk line. Watch for it along the curb if you stand on 3rd Street to see the floats. The project page has the latest status before parade night, and residents can sign up for automatic updates by emailing [email protected].

The parade rules also shape where spectators can stand and park:

• No candy may be thrown from floats.
• Floats don't go through the fairgrounds gates. They leave on 14th Avenue and turn onto 1st Street.
• Drop-offs happen on 2nd Avenue. The rules say not to park along the fence in front of the fairgrounds and not to stop on 14th Avenue.
• The parade is capped at 25 floats.

Why the display sits behind a locked gate

Light Up Princeton started in 2020. The City and the Chamber conceived it that year as a new community tradition. The Princeton American Legion pledged $5,000 toward the first display, and the display carried the name "Princeton American Legion's Holiday Light Loop" for three years, the Union-Times reported. The Chamber's directions still mention "the American Legion Light Up Princeton loop." The 2023 season set the record at the time with 3,548 cars, 380 of them on the busiest night.

For its first years the display stood in Riverside Park on Rum River Drive North. In 2024 it moved to the fairgrounds. Young told the Union-Times that the display could not grow at Riverside Park. Because the park stayed open all day, organizers also had trouble keeping people from walking through the displays, and some displays were vandalized. "At the fairgrounds, we can grow, it's all flat and we can lock it at night," she said.

The gate explains how the nights work. A display that can be locked has set opening hours, and set hours make it possible to staff each night with a volunteer group that keeps half of that night's donations. It also explains the Chamber's firm rule that Light Up Princeton is drive-through only, with no walking. The one place to park is the photo stop at the end of the loop.

The move also made room for Christmas Tree Lane, a row of trees decorated by local businesses and organizations. The first year had 35 balsam firs. This year's trees are 5 to 6 feet tall, and their decorating sessions run Nov. 14, 16, 20 and 21. Each tree is fixed to a fence post, and the guidelines warn sponsors about "rain, sleet snow and a lot of wind."

How the nights differ after opening weekend

The posted hours are short, and they vary by night. The extras are tied to specific dates.

A Friday or Saturday gives you an extra hour and the hot chocolate. A Thursday or Sunday is the same drive in a shorter window. Last season's closures came from cold and wind, which made it unsafe at times for volunteers to work outside. If you plan to bring a donation, have a backup night in mind.

The TikTok contest runs alongside the lights. This Is Princeton (@this.is.princeton5) is taking "Keep the Cheer Here" videos from businesses and personal accounts posted between Nov. 18 and 25. The video with the most views by Dec. 11 wins $100.

On Monday, Dec. 21, a separate event takes place down by the river. The Chamber calendar lists the Winter Solstice Luminary Walk for Mental Health Awareness from 5 to 8 p.m. on the Riebe Park Trail along the Rum River. It falls two days after the carriage rides and three days before the display's final night.

Light Up Princeton has become a fixture of December here, and we love seeing it raise money for groups all over town. If you're planning a move or a sale for after the holidays, Team Lundeen would be glad to talk it through over a cup of that Minnco hot chocolate. Let's Find Your Way Home. Request a Free Home Valuation.