First ever Northern Lights Festival to begin in Rochester

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – It’s being referred to as “The North’s Largest Indoor Light Park,” and it’s first day in action is Friday, December 2nd, in Rochester’s Mayo Civic Center.

The first ever Northern Lights Festival will be a custom light park with five main exhibits, one of them being North America’s largest inflatable igloo. The creator of the lights show, Mitch Reaume, is also a founder of the Minnesota Christmas Market. He says some of the proceeds, like with the Christmas Market, will go towards Santa’s College Fund: a scholarship fund dedicated to helping refugees with their higher education.

”This college fund is a new initiative we started this year,” Reaume said. “We’ve committed for the next four years; we have a goal of getting 30 scholarships made for refugees in Minnesota to go to college. Our hope, if all goes well this year, is that we’ll be creating those scholarships for 30 students.”

The festival hours are:

Friday, December 2, 9, 16: 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Saturday, December 3, 10, 17: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Sunday, December 4, 11, 18: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com as well as the Mayo Civic Center box office. Prices are $12 for ages 5-13, $17 for ages 14 and older, and free for children 4 years old and under.

Copyright 2022 KTTC. All rights reserved.