Lisle, Illinois – October 01, 2026 -- The Morton Arboretum's holiday lights exhibition Illumination opens for its 14th season on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2026, and runs through Saturday, Jan. 2, 2027, adding four new large-scale installations and a model train experience called Pine Whistle Railroad.
Tickets went on sale to Arboretum members on Oct. 1 at 9 a.m. CT and open to the general public Oct. 15 at 9 a.m. CT through mortonarb.org/illumination.
A 400-foot aurora-inspired canopy headlines four new installations
The exhibition's most ambitious display yet, Northern Lights, spans more than 400 feet overhead with shifting colored curtains inspired by the aurora borealis and will only be available this season. Three other new installations join it: Lightwave, a 165-foot tunnel with 64 moving lit spheres and 160 fixed chrome spheres; Cosmic Garden, a hillside of 25 glowing orbs modeled on sand gardens; and Fairy Forest, featuring glowing orbs, giant fireflies and illuminated mushrooms.
"This year's Illumination invites guests to see the Arboretum in a completely new light,