Lights of Wonder

A free attraction at Victoria’s Centennial Square, Lights of Wonder was a Christmas event with beautiful illuminations and live entertainment.

NOTE: This event isn’t happening in 2026. 2025 was its final year.

Downtown Victoria’s Lights of Wonder

A recent addition to the holiday season, Lights of Wonder made its first appearance in 2019. The 2020 edition was cancelled due to the pandemic, but the event returned each year since then. Unfortunately, due to aging equipment and rising costs, this event will not be returning in 2026.

Lights of Wonder used to take place at Centennial Square. The plaza is located at 1 Centennial Square downtown, right near both City Hall and Chinatown. Around 500,000 lights were used to create the displays which brightened the area with bedazzling trees as well various artistic creations.

It’s estimated that up to around 75,000 people visited Lights of Wonder in a good year. Admission was free for everyone.

The 2025 Event

Lights of Wonder typically ran from late November to December 31st each year. The lights stayed on throughout the festival’s run, and then shut off shortly after midnight on New Year’s Eve. As mentioned above, there was no admission fee or ticket required to check out the event.

The lights were up to admire throughout the month. There was daily entertainment pretty much throughout the festival’s run as well (with the exception of Christmas Day).

When visiting Lights of Wonder, the main attraction was the numerous displays of coloured lights around the square. There were typically trees covered in lights, artificial displays like an electric blue orca, a lit-up archway to walk through, and more.

There were also a couple vendors who sold hot chocolate and snacks, as well as a donation booth. The donation booth had a recipient each night that all donations went to. In past years different organizations taking part have included The Soup Kitchen, BC Children’s Hospital Foundation, Women In Need and many more.