Once again, the Morton Arboretum in Lisle has transformed into a holiday delight.
“Illumination: Tree Lights” returns for its 13th season, featuring 20 light displays set to music along a fully ADA-compliant trail running through the arboretum’s gardens and tree-filled landscapes.
The exhibit is open from 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. daily through Jan. 3, 2026.
“We’ve definitely become one of Chicagoland’s traditions,” said Amy Scott, head of exhibitions at the Morton Arboretum. “We are very different from other light shows (in that) we are very site-specific. Our partners, Lightswitch, design the experience based on our landscape and our grounds, so it’s unique. Ours is very much specific to our grounds and the trees that are on our grounds and the way everything is laid out in nature.”
Earlier in 2025, the Morton Arboretum’s latest exhibit, “Vivid Creatures,” by artists Heather BeGaetz and Fez BeGaetz, opened. The exhibit consists of five large-scale, colorful sculptures modeled after animals that are native to northern Illinois. Four of the five sculptures are included in “Illumination: Tree Lights.”
“We are including them as part of our show and using color to bring these sculptures to life in a different way than they do during the day,” said John Featherstone, lighting designer and founder of Lightswitch. “We’re really excited to bring ‘Vivid Creatures’ to life as part of the ‘Illumination’ experience.”
“They’re beautiful during the day but they are transformed with the lighting at night,” Scott said. “Those have been a lot of fun to incorporate into ‘Illumination.’”
Also new for 2025 for the lights display are Dog Admission Nights on Dec. 3, 10 and 17. On those three
Wednesday nights, visitors can bring their canine companions. Separate tickets are required for dogs, organizers said.
Another popular initiative that’s returning is Electric Illumination on Dec. 5, 12 and 19, she said.
“Three Fridays in December are adults-only, 18-and-over nights for the entire night. We will have a live DJ broadcasting throughout the entire route based on the theme for the night,” she said.
They’ve done smaller versions of this in the past, but this is the first time full nights are devoted to the event. Past themes have included ‘80s night, pop divas and house music.
“We’re excited about this. We think it’s going to be a lot of fun,” she said. “You’re able to still experience the beauty of the lights and trees and still hang out with your friends and have a great time, but with a different soundtrack to go along with it.”
Food and beverages are for sale during “Illumination: Tree Lights,” event organizers said.
“We have hot meals being served in our Ginkgo Restaurant that overlooks the finale of the experience over Meadow Lake,” she said.
“And we have a concession tent that has a beautiful view of ‘Illumination.’ We have snacks and hot chocolate and beverages both alcoholic and non-alcoholic there. You can buy a s’mores kit there and bring it to the warming pits. We also have a limited-edition Morton Arboretum logo mug … in the concession tents.”
It’s a great way to spend an evening enjoying the season, she said. People come back year after year to see what’s new and to see returning favorites, according to Scott.
“Then we have a lot of people finding us for the first time,” she said. “For them, this is an amazing way to spend time outside. It’s absolutely gorgeous, we have wonderful music and there is so much you can do.”
Since the show’s inception 13 years ago, the goal has been to make the trees and landscaping at the arboretum the focus of the “Illumination” event, Featherstone said. He’s designed “Illumination” since the beginning.
“Pretty much all holiday shows were sort of using trees as an armature to hold up twinkle lights. It places the tree into a secondary role,” he said. “We wanted to place the trees into a primary role and have them be the stars of the show rather than have the trees hold up lights.”
The lights are incorporated into the landscape and designed to work with it, he said.
“We are always honoring the amazing natural collection and the scenery in the arboretum,” he said.
That means working with the collections group about the best way to highlight and profile the trees, he said.
“Everything we do comes back to the notion of, is it honoring the arboretum’s core pledge of being champions of trees and does it reflect an opportunity to think about nature a little more differently,” he said.
Tickets are sold every half-hour from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m., but people can stay on the path as long as they like during the event, organizers said. Ticket prices vary based on date and time. Discounted
tickets for EBT, Link and WIC-card holders are offered on select nights.
“Illumination: Tree Lights” is a way to escape for a night and spend time with loved ones in nature, Scott said.
“You’re surrounded by beautiful lights and you have this diversity of music playing,” she said. “It’s just a great night for everyone and you get to slow down and enjoy the season.”
“It’s immersive and inclusive. It’s a beautiful mile-plus-long walk in the woods and some of the most beautiful woodland we are fortunate enough to have as residents in the Chicago area,” Featherstone said. “We hope it’s an opportunity for everyone to slow down and experience nature.”
Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
Illumination: Tree Lights
When: 4:30 to 9:30 p.m. daily through Jan. 3, 2026
Where: The Morton Arboretum, 4100 Route 53, Lisle
Tickets: $22-$42; discount for children 4-17, free for children 3 and under
Information: 630-968-0074; mortonarb.org
