SHELBURNE, Vt. (September 21, 2026)—Tickets for Shelburne Museum’s beloved holiday tradition, Winter Lights, go on pre-sale to museum members on September 21 and to the general public on September 28. Returning for its sixth season, the event illuminates the dark days of winter with magic and wonder. Winter Lights opens on November 27 and runs through January 3, 2027, offering a festive experience for visitors of all ages.

Visitors are invited to bundle up and stroll the museum’s grounds, where iconic and historic landmarks are transformed into a glittering wonderland. Thousands of colorful lights adorn favorite stops along the way, including the historic 220-foot steamboat Ticonderoga, its companion 1871 Lighthouse, the twinkling forest of Beach Woods, and magical Bostwick Garden. Popular entertainment acts are back for 2026. On select evenings, entertainment enriches the experience with the mesmerizing Burlington Burn Club performers working magic with light, life-size interactive street puppets from Puppet Ruckus, and acapella singing groups. New this year, featured artist Calvin Laituri has created a menagerie of woodland animals that will be illuminated in Beach Woods. Laituri’s intricately detailed  illustrations of deer, fox, bear, raccoon, bobcat, catamount, squirrel, skunk, and more are sure to make eyes go wide when they are sequentially illuminated deep in the pine forest of Beach Woods. Also new this year special movie screenings of seasonal favorite films in the Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education. Check the website for details.
 

Tickets & Pricing:

·       Online advance purchase: $20 adults / $10 children ages 3–17 / Free for children under 3;

·       At the door: $25 adults / $12 children ages 3–17;

·       Anytime VIP ticket: $35 (Valid for one Walk-through night, no reservation required;)

·       Drive-around evenings: $65 per personal vehicle (Online advance purchase only.)

Purchase tickets in advance at www.shelburnemuseum.org/visit/winter-lights/

Winter Lights is generously supported by Lake Champlain Chocolates, with additional support from Farrell Distributing, National Life Group, Union Bank, and Global Foundries. 
  
Image credit: Shelburne Museum’s 220-foot Steamboat Ticonderoga floating in a sea of light at Winter Lights. Photography by Adam Silverman.
  

PDF version of press release available for download: HERE. 
High-resolution images are available HERE.

About Shelburne Museum
Founded in 1947 by trailblazing folk art collector Electra Havemeyer Webb (1888–1960), Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont, is the largest art and history museum in northern New England and Vermont’s foremost public resource for visual art and material culture. The Museum’s 45-acre campus is comprised of 39 buildings including the Pizzagalli Center for Art and Education and Webb Gallery featuring important American paintings by Andrew Wyeth, Winslow Homer, Anna Mary Robertson “Grandma” Moses, John Singleton Copley and many more. Construction is underway for the Perry Center for Native American Art, designed in partnership with Indigenous voices and devoted to the stewardship and exhibition of the Native American art in the museum’s care, scheduled to open in 2027. For more information, please visit shelburnemuseum.org.   
                                                                            
For media inquiries, please contact: 
Leslie Wright
Director of Marketing and Communications
Shelburne Museum
lwright@shelburnemuseum.org
802-985-0880
 
Kristen Levesque
Kristen Levesque Public Relations
kristen@kristenlevesquepr.com
207-329-3090