When the Harbor Lights Winter Festival opens at Jones Park on Friday, Nov. 27, Gulfport residents can get in for $5 on nine nights. All nine fall on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, and the last one is Dec. 16. The festival's FAQ lists "Gulfport Night" for city residents on Nov. 30 through Dec. 2, Dec. 7 through 9, and Dec. 14 through 16. Discounted tickets are sold on site with verification and apply to individuals, not whole groups. Teachers and education professionals, military members, first responders, medical professionals and seniors 65 and older get $5 entry on the same nine nights.
The city's own ledger shows ticket revenue came in well short of plan last season. In response, Harbor Lights changed its prices, cut seasonal staff hours and put its best deals early in the week. For anyone who lives here, the cheapest and simplest Harbor Lights now runs Monday through Wednesday during the festival's first three weeks.
The Festival Keeps Its Own Books
Harbor Lights has run on its own city budget since the 2022-23 fiscal year, when Gulfport seeded the fund with $1.2 million from the general fund. The Sun Herald reported in October 2025 that the 2022 and 2024 shows ran deficits that drew the seed fund down to about $94,000. It also reported that the show costs the city about $2 million a year. Its biggest expense is contractors, who handle everything from security to setup and construction. Harbor Lights money also helps pay for harbor operations and for staff who work the city's other special events.
Billy Lehman, assistant director of the Leisure Services Department, has overseen the show since 2023 and worked on the crew of the first one in 2015. He told the Sun Herald that revenue runs higher when the weather cooperates and when Thanksgiving comes early. The 2024 season had neither. Eleven rainy days and a late holiday start contributed to a $362,484 deficit, and attendance fell to about 92,000 in 2024 from 116,000 in 2023.
Going into the 2025 show, the city's original budget for FY2026 projected $2,115,400 in revenue and $2,144,901 in expenses. The season started slowly. WXXV reported on Dec. 9, 2025 about 18,000 visitors after a little more than a week, which was behind the previous year's pace at that point. The FY2027 adopted budget, adopted Sept. 14, 2026, shows how the year ended.
| Harbor Lights Fund | FY2026 original budget | FY2026 estimated actuals | FY2027 adopted |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charges for services | $1,860,000 | $1,469,448 | $1,662,000 |
| Sponsorships | $235,000 | $235,000 | $235,000 |
| Interest earned | $20,400 | $11,000 | $12,000 |
| Total revenue | $2,115,400 | $1,715,448 | $1,909,000 |
| Personnel services | $638,030 | $441,257 | $592,141 |
| Total expenses | $2,144,901 | $1,688,918 | $1,839,141 |
| Net operating result | –$29,501 | $26,530 | $69,859 |
Revenue from ticket sales, rides and concessions, which the budget calls charges for services, came in about $390,000 under plan. The fund still ended FY2026 with an estimated surplus of $26,530 because spending fell even faster than revenue. Two budget footnotes explain the changes. The revenue line "includes new pricing structure," and seasonal workers were cut from 40 hours a week to 32. The $26,530 is an estimate, not an audited result. For the 2026 show, the city has set a lower revenue target than last year's and projects a small surplus of $69,859. The fund's estimated balance is $189,275 going in and $259,134 at the end of FY2027.
Where the New Prices Landed
The new pricing widens the gap between the cheapest and most expensive nights. In 2024, WLOX reported adult tickets at $15 Sunday through Thursday and $20 on Fridays and Saturdays, with ages 4 to 12 at $5. The 2025 prices were the same, with the $15 rate also applying after Christmas.
For 2026, general admission runs $14 to $22, depending on the night and on whether you buy online or at the gate. Tickets for ages 4 to 12 run $5 to $7, and children 3 and under get in free. The festival encourages buying online to avoid the box office line. The ticket page lists hours of 5:30 to 10:30 p.m., and the box office closes at 9:30.
The rides follow the same weekday pattern. Admission doesn't cover them. Single ride tickets cost $4 to $6, and an all-rides armband sells for $20 on Mondays through Wednesdays until Dec. 16. That's the same weekday window as the $5 entry nights. A Gulfport family that goes on Tuesday, Dec. 8, gets both discounts. The same family on a Saturday pays full weekend admission and buys rides one ticket at a time.
The Aquarium Sells Its Own Ticket Now
The TRAM pedestrian bridge connects Jones Park to the Mississippi Aquarium. In December 2024, the two holiday shows sold a combo ticket. WXXV reported at the time that any Harbor Lights ticket included the Aquarium's evening event on Dec. 6 through 15 and Dec. 26 through 31, with a $5 add-on from Dec. 16 through 24, good the same day or the next.
That arrangement won't return this year. The Aquarium's event page says there's no reciprocal entry between Harbor Lights and "A Magical Mississippi Christmas" for 2026, and the two events are priced separately. The Aquarium's own pricing is simple. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children. Annual pass holders pay $10 for adults and $5 for children at the gate with a valid pass and ID, because the event isn't included in pass benefits.
The two shows keep different hours. The Aquarium event runs on select nights from Nov. 27 to Dec. 23, from 4:30 to 8 p.m., and ticketing and the main gate close at 7:30. This year's theme is "A Magical Mississippi Christmas for all, Animals BIG AND SMALL." It includes nighttime dolphin presentations, a projection show with four animated penguins, Santa's Workshop and Diving Elves. Proceeds support the Aquarium's on-campus habitat for endangered African penguins. Daytime admission continues at the regular rate from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with last entry at 4 p.m.
Both shows can still fit in one evening, as long as you're through the Aquarium gate by 7:30 p.m. Harbor Lights stays open until 10:30. The bridge between them is still there. You just need two tickets to use both ends.
A December Built Around Early-Week Nights
Here are the dates for both shows, plus the city's free events and the Aquarium's 5K:
- Wednesday, Nov. 25: The Aquarium's Otter Trot 5K and Fun Run. The 5K starts at Aquarium Plaza at 5:30 p.m., the fun run at 5:40, and runners get an after-hours visit to the Aquarium.
- Friday, Nov. 27: Opening night for both Harbor Lights and the Aquarium's holiday event, the day after Thanksgiving.
- Nov. 30 to Dec. 2: The first $5 Gulfport Nights, with the $20 ride armband available.
- Thursday, Dec. 3: Deck the Halls, the city's free tree lighting, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Gulfport City Hall, 2309 15th Street.
- Sunday, Dec. 6: The Sugarplum Christmas Parade downtown near 1621 23rd Ave., 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. The Aquarium's holiday event is closed that night.
- Dec. 7 to 9 and Dec. 14 to 16: The remaining $5 nights. After Dec. 16, the discount nights and the armband deal end.
- Dec. 18 and 19: Mistletoe & Main Street, a downtown street fair with vendors, food, live music and Santa photos, hosted with the Gulfport Main Street Association.
- Wednesday, Dec. 23: The last night of "A Magical Mississippi Christmas." On Dec. 24 the Aquarium closes at 3 p.m., and it's closed all day Dec. 25.
- Thursday, Dec. 24: Harbor Lights is closed for Christmas Eve. It reopens afterward and runs into the first days of January.
After Christmas, Harbor Lights is the only one of the two shows still running. Last Christmas, WLOX reported about 100,000 guests through Dec. 26, with 500 Christmas Day tickets presold and 1,500 to 2,500 visitors expected that day.
Getting There Without Driving Into the Park
Harbor Lights is a self-guided walk. Cars aren't allowed inside Jones Park during the festival. There are two free parking options. One is the Coast Transit Authority garage at 15th Street and 20th Avenue, with a CTA shuttle every 15 to 30 minutes. The other is the lot at the park's west entrance at Highway 90 and Highway 49. Both have accessible spaces and assistance. If walking is difficult, an enclosed, heated trolley runs inside the park every evening.
Inside, the festival covers 40 acres of Jones Park with more than 1.5 million lights. It includes the dancing trees, which run more than two hours of choreographed lighting, plus a train, carnival rides, warming stations and Santa's Village under Barksdale Pavilion. Santa arrives at 6 p.m. every night the show is open except Christmas Day. New this year is a stuffed-animal-making station in the gift shop. Train tickets are sold at the ride ticket booths. If rain cancels your planned night, the festival handles weather questions at [email protected]. Its FAQ warns that replies may be slow while staff are working in the park.
The weeknight setup ties back to the budget. As Lehman described it, the festival's revenue runs higher with dry weather and an early Thanksgiving. For the 2026 season, the cheapest admission and rides for Gulfport residents fall on Mondays through Wednesdays between Nov. 30 and Dec. 16.
At Rain, we follow how Gulfport's waterfront is used through the year, from the harbor's event calendar to the city budgets behind it. If you'd like to talk through what the harbor district's next few years could mean for your plans on the Coast, Talk With an Advisor.
