"BIG SHOUT OUT to all the houses on Highland and Omar." That line is on the Woodland Heights Civic Association's 2026 Lights in the Heights page. The association is asking those households to offer their porches as stages for volunteer musicians on the night of the event.
If you live on either street, the 39th Lights in the Heights is coming to your front yard. The City of Houston's Special Events office has approved the 2026 route, and the event is set for the second Saturday in December, which this year is Saturday, December 12, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Each year the event shifts to a different set of Woodland Heights blocks. Who hosts it, where the music plays and which streets close all depend on that year's route.
A Route That Changes Hands Every Year
Lights in the Heights started on December 12, 1987. Neighbors set luminarias along streets, driveways and porches and hosted entertainment on the Norhill Esplanade. The association's 1989 newsletter reported that the first event drew 20,000 people. The name "Lights in the Heights" appears to have been added that year, even though the event has always been held in Woodland Heights.
Since then, the featured streets have moved. The last three years show the pattern:
| Year | Main event date | Featured streets | Fundraising bash |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Saturday, December 14 | Byrne, Euclid and 7½th | Friday, November 15 |
| 2025 | Saturday, December 13 | Bayland and Woodland | Recapped by WHCA in late November |
| 2026 | Saturday, December 12 | Highland and Omar | Thursday, October 15 |
In 2024 the association said the featured streets "will be closed to vehicular traffic and become vibrant hubs of community activity." In 2025, KHOU's holiday guide put the route on Bayland and Woodland between Studewood and Beauchamp and said thousands were expected at the free event.
The rotation has a practical side for the 2026 route. On the 2025 map in the association's November 2025 newsletter, Highland was a traffic street during the event. It ran eastbound only, with no parking on its south side, while Bayland and Woodland were closed to cars. Last December, Highland carried cars around the event. This December, Highland is part of the route.
The Porches Come First
Music on the route depends on homeowners. The association says that since the event began, neighbors along the route have offered their porches to volunteer musicians, and that "every year we have musicians from across the city who volunteer their time and music." Joy Roth, a Woodland Heights neighbor, coordinates both the musicians and the porches. The association says that if you volunteer your porch, she will find a musician to play from it for free. Porch offers go to [email protected].
The new route also changes who sets the night's lineup. Last year the porch band map followed Bayland and Woodland. This year the musicians will play wherever Highland and Omar households say yes. The 2026 porch band map has not been published yet.
The route also shapes the decorating contest. Judging for the 2026 Home Decorating Contest is set for Thursday, December 10. Volunteer judges will review route homes on Highland and Omar plus any other Woodland Heights homes that have been nominated. Winners are told early Saturday morning and get a sign to display that night. The categories range from Most Wattage and Most Historical to Best Movie Theme, Most Yummy and Best Block. To nominate a home off the route, email [email protected].
The October Bash That Pays for December
This year's fundraising starts earlier than usual. In 2024 the LITH Bash was held on November 15. The 2026 version, the LITH Boots & Bow Ties BASH, is on Thursday, October 15, from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. at the Historic Heights Fire Station, 107 W 12th St. That is three days from today.
The association is direct about where the money goes. Ticket sales, auction items and sponsorships cover the costs of the December event, including City of Houston permits, officer security, port-a-potties and other expenses. Its recap of the 2025 Bash listed security, street closures, portable toilets and street cleaning among the event's costs.
Gabby's BBQ, Eureka Heights and Kagan Cellars are the main Bash sponsors and are supplying the food and drinks. The auction list is very local:
- A fence-mountable LITH dino, created and donated by the Save the Dinos from Extinction Committee
- Two club-level seats to the UH vs. Cincinnati football game on November 7
- A 2026 Rodeo Wine Competition package with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion wines
- An $800 restaurant gift card basket from Bodensteiner Service Inc.
- Six dozen fresh eggs from Wittpenn Bros Eggs
Memorial Hermann Greater Heights is the 2026 Gold Sponsor. Community sponsors include Terry & Thweatt, P.C., Hogan Thompson Schuelke, Generator Supercenter, Creole Design, Eureka Heights Brew Co., Kagan Cellars, Gabby's BBQ and Humbug Holiday Lighting. If you're not hosting a porch or buying a Bash ticket, the WHCA online store is the other way to give. It sells 2026 cloisonné and glass ornaments with artwork by neighborhood young people, chosen by WHCA members in July, along with private party signs for households hosting on the night.
The Dinosaurs Need Their Own Fundraiser
The Norhill Esplanade is the one part of the event that doesn't move. For more than a decade, electric dinosaurs built by Ward Pennebaker have stood on the esplanade during the holidays. The association says the displays now need a professional lighting company to safely stage, strike, store and repair them.
For the past couple of years, a small group of neighbors has quietly paid for that work. This year they are asking the wider neighborhood for help through the WHCA store so the dinosaurs stay part of Lights in the Heights. Tiffany Tyler coordinates the Norhill Dinosaurs and their fundraising. Pat Rutledge and Louise Moss oversee the Watson Street Esplanade lighting, which Humbug Lighting is sponsoring this year.
The esplanade is also where neighbors gather the night before. In 2025, Friday Night Lights was labeled "For Woodland Heights Residents Only." It ran from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. on the Norhill Esplanade with a campfire, marshmallows, Eureka Heights beer, hot chocolate, The Cosmos Street Band, and a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus at 5:30. The 2026 page lists Beth Sorensen as the organizer of the neighborhood-only Friday Night Lights, but it does not give a date or time yet.
How Last Year's Logistics Worked
The association has not published 2026 parking, closure or traffic details yet. Here is how the 2025 event worked. These are last year's arrangements, not confirmed plans for December 12:
- Traffic controls and no-parking zones were in effect. Golf carts and electric or gas-powered scooters were not allowed, while wagons, strollers and other non-electric options were.
- Zion Lutheran Church offered pay-what-you-can parking at its lot on the north end of Beauchamp Street, with proceeds going to its Children & Youth summer camps.
- The BikeHouston bike valet offered secure bike parking on the Norhill Esplanade at Woodland and Norhill.
- Route streets were for pedestrians only, and 365 Things to Do in Houston's 2025 listing asked visitors to stay out of private yards.
The same outlet's 2024 guide said parking was very difficult that year and suggested bikes, transit or Uber. It also said barricades went up at 5:00 p.m. and came down at 9:00 p.m. and that private parties along the route were not open to the public. Ashley Allison handles permits and logistics for the event. Once the city-approved 2026 route map is turned into a closure plan, the detailed street-by-street version will likely appear on the association's site and in its newsletter, as it did in 2025.
Before then, the association's 2026 page lists three ways to help. You can volunteer a porch on Highland or Omar, nominate a house for the December 10 judging, or put money toward the dinosaurs. Porch offers go to [email protected], nominations go to [email protected], and other volunteer offers go to [email protected].
If you're on Highland or Omar and wondering how a December of porch bands and decorated houses could help your home's presentation, Bryan Beene can talk it through. We follow the Heights calendar closely, and a free home valuation is a simple place to start whenever you want one.
