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Christmas Festival of Lights

Festival Thanks

Thank you for making the 2023 Christmas Festival of Lights a great success!

Thank you to our performers who brought us such wonderful music every night.

Thank you to our volunteers. Without you, the Festival could not happen.

Thank you to our sponsors who helped us produce the event.

And a huge thank you to all of you who came to the Festival and supported us this year. We hope you had a wonderful time.

2024 FESTIVAL INFORMATION

Friday, Nov. 29 – Monday, Dec. 30 (Closed Christmas Day)

Please bring a non-perishable food item for SnowCap.

Festival Hours & Admission

Stay tuned for hours and pricing for the 2024 Christmas Festival of Lights. If you are interested in booking a large group in advance, please email events@thegrotto.org.

About the Festival

CHOIR SCHEDULE

Choirs in the Chapel

Enjoy the amazing sounds of local schools, churches and civic groups as they perform inside the Chapel of Mary, with its cathedral-like acoustics.

Fun for Everyone

Continuous entertainment for all ages is offered in The Grotto’s plaza area, including outdoor caroling, puppet shows, and an assortment of musical guests.

Puppet Show & Storytimes

At the top of each hour in the plaza tent, enjoy our puppet shows and storytimes.

Caroling

The Grotto Carolers perform every hour at the bottom of the hour in the plaza tent. Sing along to your favorite Christmas songs.

Snacks and Drinks

Find snacks and drinks available for purchase inside the Visitor Center, next to the Chapel.

  • Hot Chocolate
  • Donuts
  • Bottled Water
  • Assorted bagged salty snacks

A few details

The Festival of Lights is a walk-through event and visitors can expect to walk approximately one-quarter mile.

All entertainment areas are either indoors or tented, but visitors should dress for the weather. Rubber-soled shoes, warm socks, gloves, and ear coverings are recommended, especially on colder nights.

Average festival visitation times are between 60 and 90 minutes. Visitors wishing to hear a specific concert should arrive at least 30 to 45 minutes in advance of the scheduled concert time.

How to get to the Festival

The entrance to The Grotto is at NE 85th & Sandy Blvd. in Portland, Oregon.

Parking: Parking is free in the main parking lot and on the adjacent streets. Parking attendants will assist you in finding the best spot. Please follow their directions.

Overflow Lot with Free Shuttle: On busy nights, use our overflow lot, which is located at the Parkrose/Sumner Park&Ride on Sandy Blvd. Our free shuttle bus runs every night from this lot.

By Bus: If you plan to take public transit, Bus 12 takes you along NE Sandy Blvd. to The Grotto and Bus 72 takes you along NE 82nd Ave., where you can disembark at NE Sandy Blvd.

From the MAX: Exit at the Parkrose/Sumner Station on the Red Line and take our shuttle bus (located in the bus pull-out on Sandy Blvd.) The shuttle bus runs every night and is free to use.

More Information

For general questions about the Festival, please email events@thegrotto.org or call 503-254-7371.

To book your choir to perform, please contact Samantha Kocher at skocher@thegrotto.org.

To learn more about sponsorship opportunities, please contact Jane Tokito at jtokito@thegrotto.org.

Interested in volunteering? Please use this link to sign up.

For group volunteering questions, please contact events@thegrotto.org.

Thank you to our 2023 Festival Sponsors

IBEW

DRAGONBERRY PRODUCE

MATER DEI RADIO

WEST BEARING INVESTMENTS

COCO DONUTS