Start your holiday season at the 35th Annual Lighting of the Doves Festival featuring fireworks, ice carvers, kid's activities, live music, snow, and so much more! Don't miss the magic when Santa arrives! Whether you know him as Kris Kringle, Father Christmas or Saint Nick, no celebration of the season would be complete without a visit from Santa Claus. Accompanied by Mrs. Claus and other visitors from the North Pole, Santa will be on hand at the Lighting of the Doves Festival so little ones can whisper their Christmas wish list. Santa's been known to arrive by parachute, sleigh and will once again make his grand entrance in a dazzling, decorated boat from along The Woodlands Waterway at the Celebration Stage between 7:00 and 7:45, so keep your eyes peeled!

Have you ever wondered how many doves are lit and where the doves are throughout The Woodlands? In addition to the illumination of eight doves (the Lighting of The Doves ceremony), which will be displayed over the Lake Robbins Bridge through the end of the holiday season, there are also three doves at Harper's Landing on Trade Center Boulevard; three doves in the Research Forest on Green Bridge; three doves in Creekside Forest at the roundabout; three doves at Woodlands Parkway and Kuykendahl as well as three doves at Woodlands Parkway and Terramont; three doves at Kuykendahl and Creekside Green; and of course 12 doves in Town Green Park, for a total of 38 doves throughout The Woodlands.

Prior to 2016, The Lighting of the Doves Festival was merged with the annual International Winter On The Waterway (iWOW), an international flavored holiday celebration in Town Green Park and along The Waterway. Celebrate the cultural diversity represented in The Woodlands at the annual International Winter On The Waterway (iWOW). The Festival, held at the same time as the Annual Lighting of the Doves, provides attendees an opportunity to learn about the unique holiday traditions from a plethora of countries around the world.