More than 100,000 channels of RGB pixels light up to Christmas music in a synchronized show — Pasadena’s premier home light spectacle, winner of ABC’s Great Christmas Light Fight in 2022, free for families nightly through Christmas. Confirm this season’s schedule at harbecklights.com.
Harbeck Lights is Pasadena’s premier residential Christmas light show, a labor-of-love display by the Harbeck family featuring more than 100,000 RGB color-changing pixels synchronized to a loop of classic and modern holiday music. The show runs every evening through the season — confirm this year’s start date and hours at harbecklights.com.
Winner of ABC’s Great Christmas Light Fight in 2022, the display rotates through favorite holiday characters — Santa, Rudolph, the Grinch, Snoopy — plus playful nods to Star Wars and retro 8-bit video games.
Tune your car radio to 99.1 FM to hear the music synced to the lights, or step out and enjoy from the sidewalk. The Harbeck family has built this spectacle over a decade of design and engineering work and offers the show free as their gift to the community.
Yes — the show is entirely free, hosted by the Harbeck family as a gift to the community. Optional donations are sometimes accepted to support charitable causes.
Tune your car radio to 99.1 FM to hear the music synchronized to the lights — that’s the official broadcast for the show.
Nightly from early December through Christmas night, typically running early evening into late evening. The synchronized show loops continuously, so you can arrive any time during posted hours. Confirm current hours at harbecklights.com.
Both work — many visitors park nearby and walk the sidewalk for a close-up view, while others enjoy the show from inside their car with the radio on. The sidewalk is family-friendly and stroller-accessible.
Yes — the show is fully family-friendly and a favorite among Pasadena families with young kids. The music, characters, and lights are tuned for all ages.
Harbeck Lights sits on Tropical Avenue in Upper Hastings Ranch, a midcentury Pasadena neighborhood whose holiday-lighting tradition dates to 1951, when families first lined their driveways with paper-bag luminaria. Block by block, the parkways and front yards along its curving streets have grown into one of Southern California’s most established residential light tours, with each street typically choosing its own theme. The Harbeck family display is among the neighborhood’s most elaborate, built around animated pixel lights synchronized to music.
Real snow, a sledding hill in Memorial Park, an all-day downtown winter village with shopping and music, and the city’s official tree lighting in the evening — Sierra Madre’s full small-town holiday season packed into a single Saturday.
Brian J. Cook
Santa rides a Sierra Madre Fire Department engine down Sierra Madre Boulevard — Sierra Vista Park to the Fire Department — for a free community meet-and-greet with photos and treats.
Brian J. Cook
A world-class holiday lights walk-through at Santa Anita Park’s historic racing grounds, anchored by a giant light maze, a real-ice skating trail, and a full Christmas village.
Santa Anita Park’s December light experience has been presented in recent years as “Enchant Christmas.”
Brian J. Cook
Arcadia’s official civic tree lighting at the Arcadia Transit Plaza — photos with Santa, crafts, carolers, and the city’s mayor lighting the tree.
Brian J. Cook
Southern California’s holiday lights and festive outings are pure magic — but nothing compares to Santa Claus himself stepping through your own front door. House of Kringle brings a real-bearded, professionally trained Santa to homes and gatherings across SoCal for an intimate live visit your family will treasure for years.
Check Availability
Have a date in mind? Tell us when and where, and we’ll let you know whether Santa is open. House of Kringle brings a real-bearded Santa Claus to Live Visits and Group Experiences across Southern California, and December fills quickly, so the sooner you check, the better your odds of locking in your first choice.
This is a quick availability check, not a booking. Nothing is reserved and nothing is owed until we’ve confirmed your date and you’ve placed your retainer.
