
WRAL Nights of Lights at Dorothea Dix Park, back for a second year this 2021 holiday season, opens to the public tonight, Friday, November 26. This new Raleigh holiday tradition is a joint effort between WRAL, Capitol Broadcasting Company and the City of Raleigh. WRAL Nights of Lights is the only downtown Raleigh drive-thru holiday light experience.
Taking place inside Dorothea Dix Park, the event aims to provide an opportunity for the community to celebrate the holidays with a family-friendly event. Attendees will enjoy many holiday-themed light installations along a 1.3-mile route including the oaks of Dix Park wrapped in holiday lights.
Back for its second year, Nights of Lights is seeing many improvements in 2021, including reduced car counts and a new light route, including a separate entrance for VIP ticket holders. One bike-only night has taken place, with a second slated for Monday, December 13.
WRAL-TV's Elizabeth Gardner participated in Bike Night at the WRAL Nights of Lights on Sunday, November 21, 2021.
A Biking Adventure
WRAL-TV Meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner cycled in the first Bike Night on Sunday, November 21, with a group of her neighborhood friends. Gardner and the crew parked nearby and then rode the greenway on their bikes into Dix Park.
My friends agreed that its great this year, she said. The lights are grouped and themed nicely and the route is longer. We loved the neon sculptures especially the Santa Claus at the end.
Gardener said riding on her bike and seeing the light displays up close was very special.
Several things are special about bike night, she said. Once you get to the end of the route you get to turnaround and do it backwards! You can stop and spend some time soaking in the scene and take photos with your favorite lights. And theres nothing like biking through a winter wonderland! We are definitely doing it again next year.
WRAL Nights of Lights 2021
Let the Fun Begin
The WRAL Nights of Lights opens to the general public on Friday, November 26, 2021. There are more nights in 2021, almost double those offered in 2020. After the first year last year, WRAL made a number of improvements to the popular event. Fewer cars can purchase tickets in each time window, and there will be two separate entrances this year.
Look out for the large custom neon art installation, the field of elves, made with local artists GLAS especially for Nights of Lights. And look for an expanded CBC footprint; this year Rocky Mount Mills and American Tobacco join CBC village alongside MIX 101.5, WRAL/FOX 50 and the Durham Bulls.
Find out more and purchase tickets to WRALs Nights of Lights
We are thrilled to return to Dix Park this holiday season with a bigger and better WRAL Nights of Lights event, said Joel Davis, vice president and general manager of WRAL/FOX 50. We are committed to creating an exceptional experience for all attendees and will work hard to create a new and lasting holiday tradition for area families.
SLIDESHOW WRAL.com: Sneak peek: WRAL Nights of Lights 2021
VIDEO Bryan Mims gives sneak peek of WRAL Nights of Lights
WRAL Nights of Lights 2021
WRAL Nights of Lights 2021
WRAL Nights of Lights 2021
WRAL Nights of Lights 2021
WRAL Nights of Lights 2021
WRAL Nights of Lights 2021
WRAL Nights of Lights 2021
WRAL Nights of Lights 2021
Thanks to WRAL-TV's Heather Gray & WRAL-TV's Elizabeth Gardner for these Capcom photos.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Thomson and the Center for News, Technology and Innovation (CNTI) convened a two-day workshop in Sarajevo bringing together more than 35 journalists, editors, p...
11/12/2025
ESPN's Aims for Spectacular With Heisman Trophy ShowEvent firsts include 1080p HDR production airing on both national broadcast and cableBy Dan Daley, Audio...
11/12/2025
SVG Students To Watch: Frankie Patton, University of ColoradoThe 2025 grad is hitting the ground running as a PA on national broadcastsBy Brandon Costa, Directo...
11/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview, Part 3By SVG Staff
Thursday, December 11, 2025 - 7:24 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The 2...
11/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: What Makes Gen Z, X, and Y Fans Tick? Dave Gavant of WSC Sports Go...
11/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: 5G, MXL, Spectrum Loss, and Outerspace on Tap for Tues...
11/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: David Levy, Turner Titan and Master of Al...
11/12/2025
SVG Launches Follow the Money' Podcast: Go Inside the Sports Media Biz with...
11/12/2025
A Deep Dive Inside Game Creek Video's Bird and Magic Mobile Units, Home to A...
11/12/2025
How Sound Effects for Monsters Funday Football' Emulated the Sonic Soul of ...
11/12/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: CSP Mobile Productions' Len Chase on Upgrading Tr...
11/12/2025
Having the right song soundtrack your moves can make all the difference when gam...
11/12/2025
It's been a big year for Taylor Swift. Her highly anticipated album The Life...
11/12/2025
New satellites for the SDA Tranche 1 Tracking program in production at L3Harris&...
11/12/2025
The Meadowlands system, a compact and mobile version of the CCS, uses ground-based radio frequency units to disrupt satellite communications....
11/12/2025
The L3Harris demonstration united tactical communications devices, counter-UAS c...
11/12/2025
Throughout 2025, L3Harris delivered innovative solutions to U.S. and allied warfighters across every domain.
With an unrelenting commitment to excellence, our...
11/12/2025
A Majority of the World's Population (51%) Identify As Soccer Fans
The 2025 MLB postseason notched 58.2 billion viewing minutes, up +24% from the prior y...
11/12/2025
WALTHAM, Mass. Video-over-IP software provider Zixi said Roi Sasson has joined the company as vice president, engineering....
11/12/2025
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. In a move that highlights the growing competition between broadcasters and CTV platforms for local advertising, LG Ad Solutions has announ...
11/12/2025
Boston Conservatory Earns Several Best of Accolades in 2025 Highlights include a faculty Grammy win, a seventh consecutive year on Playbill's list of co...
11/12/2025
RASTATT, Germany Lawo and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) have partnered to launch the SMPTE ST 2110 Practical Lab, an immersive ...
11/12/2025
PHILADELPHIA Comcasts Xfinity operating brand has announced the launch of new national video plans with all-in pricing that the operator said will provide custo...
11/12/2025
After eight years of declines, MoffettNathansons new Cord Cutting Monitor for Q3 2025 shows that pay TV subscribers to linear TV packages rose by 303,000, the f...
11/12/2025
Happy Holidays from Berklee Enjoy this years holiday student-performance video.
December 10, 2025
By
Office of the President
Dear Berklee community,
As w...
11/12/2025
11 Dec 2025
VEON's Banglalink Receives Regulatory Approval to Launch Digita...
11/12/2025
Thursday 11 December 2025
Sky Arts paints a picture of Britain's beauty as ...
11/12/2025
Back to All News
Meet the Most Relatable Hero This Holiday: Main Trailer and Po...
11/12/2025
Back to All News
High Tides: Netflix Shares Release Date Final Season
Credit: Netflix / Thomas Nolf
Entertainment
11 December 2025
GlobalNetherlandsBelgium...
11/12/2025
Back to All News
Made in Texas: How Netflix House Dallas Is Leaving a Lasting Footprint
From left to right: America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerl...
11/12/2025
Back to All News
The Second Part of One Hundred Years of Solitude Will Arrive i...
11/12/2025
It's not every day we're asked to create a website for a classical musician!
So, we were delighted to help pianist Georgina Duncan as she embarks on he...
11/12/2025
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) today announced additional programm...
11/12/2025
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Irish golfing hero Shane Lowry...
11/12/2025
RT Sport Awards 2025 live on RT One and RT Player at 8:05pm on Saturday 20 December
On Saturday 20 December live on RT One and RT Player at the earlier ti...
11/12/2025
Hunters, saddle up - adventure awaits in the cloud.
Journey into the world of M...
11/12/2025
Sash is ready to samba as Fair City star Stephanie Kelly is revealed as the late...
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
10/12/2025
Sound-Alike Commercials Are Part of Sports' Soundtrack Johnny Cash for Coca-Cola is the latest in a long litany of sonic approximationsBy Dan Daley, Audio ...
10/12/2025
Immersive Sound Is Logical Next Step for Sports VenuesSound-systems suppliers are sanguine, but the market has its challengesBy Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Wednes...
10/12/2025
The Romans Built Arenas for Immersive Sound 2,000 Years AgoThe historic Arena of Nimes in France is still in use todayBy Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Wednesday, De...
10/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Audio Workshop Hits on Immersive, Virtualized, and Next...
10/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Technology Exhibits Preview: Audio SpotlightBy SVG Staff
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 - 8:21 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlig...
10/12/2025
SVG Europe Audio: Listening to the sounds of powder and ice at Milano Cortina wi...
10/12/2025
Advancements in audio technology: Capturing the atmosphere of live sports By David Davies
Tuesday, November 25, 2025 - 09:27
Print This Story
Although wor...
10/12/2025
Everything smelled of popcorn: The art of bringing the complex sound of esports ...
10/12/2025
Top L-R: Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty!, Hanging by a Wire, Broken English, Buddy
C...
10/12/2025
For the first time, Spotify is giving users the power to steer the algorithm. Gustav S derstr m, Spotify's Co-President, CPO, and CTO, shares the vision beh...
10/12/2025
L3Harris' new contract for Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System Insensitive ...
10/12/2025
L3Harris Meadowlands system has been designed with an open architecture software system that allows for more flexible and efficient software updates. This capab...