Long-Running Northern Minnesota ‘Winter Wonderland’ Holiday Lights Attraction To End After This Year

A long-running holiday lights attraction that's been operating for more than 20 years will end after the 2026 season.

The Brainerd Noon Sertoma Club announced that this year will be the final year of its annual drive-through 'Winter Wonderland' holiday lights display after more than two decades of dazzling visitors.

The organization announced this week that they have decided to "retire the event" after what they say has been "careful evaluation of several long-term challenges". Among those challenges are what they call a "significant increase in electricity infrastructure expenses" along with the lack of a long-term lease agreement with the venue where the event is held.

Aside from those two key factors, other "operational considerations" also factored into determining it wasn't sustainable to continue the event beyond this year.

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Since first opening in 2006, the event has been held at the Northland Arboretum in Brainerd.

Over the years, it has not only brought holiday joy to visitors, but the event has also raised a lot of money for local nonprofit organizations. The Brainerd Noon Sertoma Club says about $500,000 has been distributed to local organizations thanks to the annual Winter Wonderland event.

Brainerd's Winter Wonderland at the Northland Arboretum was among the first major organized holiday lights attractions in Greater Minnesota.

The likes of the Winter Wonderland and Duluth's Bentleyville Tour of Lights getting going in the mid-2000s helped inspire an explosion of community holiday attractions in the following years around the region.

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The annual Brainerd Winter Wonderland traditionally starts on Thanksgiving and runs Thursdays through Saturdays until Christmas, when it is open every night from Christmas Eve through New Year's Eve, when the event closes.