Michigan City's holiday calendar has a hinge, and it sits inside one park. The Washington Park Zoo's winter season runs November 1 through December 4, open weekends only and weather permitting, and then the zoo closes for the season. The next day, Saturday, December 5, the city's Festival of Lights opens in Washington Park. A parade comes down Franklin Street through the Uptown Arts District at 5 p.m., and the light displays stay up until January 10, 2027.
So the park changes jobs overnight, and the calendar on either side of that night looks different. Before December 5, the season lives indoors and downtown, at the Lubeznik Center for the Arts and Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets. After it, the season moves to the lakefront and to the Barker Mansion on Washington Street. Planning around that hinge works better than treating the season as one long stretch.
The zoo's last weekends are the ones right in front of you
From today, Thursday, November 12, the zoo has three weekends left: November 14–15, November 21–22, and Thanksgiving weekend, November 28–29. Its winter window technically closes on Friday, December 4, but the zoo is open weekends only, so Thanksgiving weekend is the last real chance this year, weather permitting.
A late-season visit is a smaller one. The zoo lists the Safari Train and the Peacock Cafe as closed for the 2026 season, and the Wings of Wonder habitat is closed for construction until April 2027. The Observation Tower keeps listed hours of 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and the animal buildings and gift shop close half an hour before closing time. On a clear November morning, the tower is the main reason to go.
That construction note also matters for next spring. When the zoo reopens, Wings of Wonder is on an April 2027 timeline, so the zoo you visit this month will look different from the one that greets you next season.
Downtown carries the weeks before the lights
Between now and December 5, two downtown addresses do most of the seasonal work, and their schedules barely overlap in what they offer.
Lubeznik Center for the Arts, 101 W. 2nd St. LCA's Gallery Shop has spread into the main lobby for its Holiday Artisan Market, which runs from November 6 through January 8, 2027. LCA describes hundreds of handmade items from more than 60 local artisans. The market keeps regular LCA hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays, closed Tuesdays, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends, Central time. LCA members save 10% on Gallery Shop purchases, and that discount applies during the market.
Down the hall, LCA's new exhibition, "UNREAL," is on view. It brings together five Midwestern artists: Anthony Adcock, Cindy Bernhard, Chris Cosnowski, Renee McGinnis and Ari Norris. All five work in illusion, hyperrealism and trompe l'oeil, the French term for art meant to "deceive the eye." LCA frames the show around "the unstable boundary between what we see and what we believe." In announcing the exhibition, LCA noted, "As always, admission is free!" That makes one stop work two ways. You can shop the artisan tables and then walk through the gallery, all on one visit.
Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets. Simon has posted its Thanksgiving-week hours for the outlet center:
| Date | Day | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| November 26, 2026 | Thanksgiving | Closed |
| November 27, 2026 | Black Friday | 6 a.m. – 9 p.m. |
| November 28, 2026 | Saturday | 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. |
| November 29, 2026 | Sunday | 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. |
| November 30, 2026 | Monday | 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. |
The center has been getting work done this year. The NWI Times reported that a Simon spokesperson described the planned work. It covered repairs to parking-lot asphalt, storm drainage, directories and light poles; new storefront fascia and walkway roofs; new monuments along Wabash Avenue; and a mall-wide music system to follow the roof work. The tenant mix has shifted too. In January, Visit Michigan City LaPorte listed newcomers at the outlets that included Nothing Bundt Cakes, HEROES: Gallery-Arcade-Museum, Boba Tea House, Antojito MX, Travel Treasures, Pop Culture & Collectibles, JD Sports, Fragrance Hut and Sneaker Spot. If your last visit was a holiday ago, several of those storefronts will be new to you. HEROES and Boba Tea House also give Black Friday a stop that isn't a checkout line.
Simon also lists a Community Stage at the center running through December 31, 2026, open to local performers.
Thanksgiving weekend is the last time all three overlap
The zoo, Lighthouse Place and the Lubeznik market are all open on each remaining November weekend, weather permitting at the zoo. Thanksgiving weekend is the last of them, and the only one on which the outlets run posted holiday hours.
- Black Friday, November 27. Lighthouse Place opens at 6 a.m. Lubeznik's posted weekday hours run 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The zoo is closed because it is a weekday.
- Saturday, November 28. The outlets run 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Lubeznik keeps weekend hours, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The zoo is open, weather permitting, with the Observation Tower listed at 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Sunday, November 29. This is the zoo's final listed weekend day of 2026. The outlets close at 6 p.m., and Lubeznik runs 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
If family is in town for the holiday, Saturday is the one day that weekend when the zoo, an exhibition and the outlets are all open, and the zoo's tower hours and Lubeznik's weekend hours fit inside one afternoon.
December 5 stacks three things into one Saturday
The handoff day is the densest day on the calendar.
| Time | Event | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 1–4 p.m. | Christmas Tea Party, with afternoon tea and a tour of the holiday-decorated mansion | Barker Mansion, 631 Washington St. |
| 5 p.m. | Festival of Lights parade | Franklin Street through the Uptown Arts District |
| After the parade | Light displays open for the season | Washington Park |
The city describes the festival as free. It lists visits from Santa Claus, live music, local food vendors, and the city's official Christmas tree as the centerpiece, surrounded by hot chocolate and seasonal snacks. Michigan City Special Events hosts it with the Parks & Recreation Department. The city's listing says "more details to be added soon," so check the event page closer to the date for display hours and the tree program.
The timing works. A 1–4 p.m. tea at the Barker Mansion ends an hour before the parade starts, a short drive from Franklin Street. A household could stay at the tea until it wraps up at 4 p.m. and still be downtown for the parade, then end the evening under the lights in the same park where the zoo closed for the season the day before.
After the handoff, the calendar moves to Washington Street
Once the lights are up, the Barker Mansion carries most of the remaining December dates.
- Tuesday, December 15, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: The Barker Christmas Cottage, with cocoa, cookie decorating and a holiday craft. Admission is $5 per person.
- Sunday, December 20, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Santa visits the mansion, included with general admission.
The Cottage falls on a Tuesday, the one weekday Lubeznik closes. That makes December 15 a weekday when the Barker Mansion, rather than the gallery, is the place to go with kids or visiting relatives.
Lubeznik's artisan market keeps running past both Barker dates and through the holidays, closing January 8, 2027. The Festival of Lights runs two days longer, until January 10. That leaves a short window in early January, after the guests have gone home, when both are still open.
The season at a glance
- Now through November 29: Zoo weekends, weather permitting; the Lubeznik Holiday Artisan Market and "UNREAL"
- November 26: Lighthouse Place closed for Thanksgiving
- November 27–30: Lighthouse Place holiday hours, opening at 6 a.m. on Black Friday
- December 4: Zoo's winter window ends; closed for the season
- December 5: Barker Christmas Tea Party at 1 p.m., parade at 5 p.m., Festival of Lights opens
- December 15: Barker Christmas Cottage
- December 20: Santa at the Barker Mansion
- January 8, 2027: Lubeznik Holiday Artisan Market closes
- January 10, 2027: Festival of Lights ends
If hosting family in Michigan City this season has you thinking about how your own home fits the next chapter, Lesley Sweeney works with Michigan City households year-round. Schedule your complimentary market consultation, and we can talk after the parade.
