Where’s the best place to see Christmas lights in Bradenton, Sarasota? Here’s a list

When palm trees and sailboats are aglow, you know its the holiday season in Southwest Florida.

What the Suncoast lacks in wintry weather, it makes up for in colorful Christmas lights everywhere you go.

Around Bradenton and Sarasota, professional light displays, illuminated gardens and some particularly festive neighborhoods all make for great viewing.

Lights of Palmetto, a free drive-in Christmas light attraction in Manatee County, even drew national attention this year with a spot on ABC’s “The Great Christmas Light Fight.”

If you’re still not sure where to begin your Christmas sightseeing adventure, let us be your proverbial Rudolph guiding the way.

Here are some top picks for Christmas light sights around Bradenton, plus a roundup of reader-submitted favorites.

Lights of Palmetto

Opened in 2018, Lights of Palmetto is a free, drive-in Christmas light attraction that features over 100,000 color-changing lights synced up to holiday and popular music. The show happens nightly in December and early January on the 4-acre property of the Stallings family near Buffalo Creek Road. Simply pull in and tune your radio to 96.1 FM to enjoy music with the lights.

Lights of Palmetto has grown every year since it opened with more lights and new props, and light mastermind Tom Stallings says he’s not done adding to it yet.

“I still have two acres left to build,” Stallings said. “We just continue to add and grow. As new props come in, I put those more towards the key seeing areas.”

This year’s display includes an illuminated barn and house, a mega Christmas tree at about 30 feet tall, over 100 3D-printed snowflakes, a manger scene and more.

Admission is free, but donations are happily accepted for a local toy drive charity. There’s also a box where kids can leave notes to Santa.

• Details: Open 5:45-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday; 5:45-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday through the second week of January. Lights of Palmetto is located at 5220 69th Street East. Visitors can park and watch in their cars or walk up the sidewalk on nearby Buffalo Creek Road for another vantage point. Tune to 96.1 FM for music. Free; donations for charity accepted.
  
  
• Info: facebook.com/lightsofpalmetto

Palma Sola Botanical Park

“Winter Nights Under the Lights” at Palma Sola Botanical Park has quickly become a local holiday tradition since it got glowing in 2019.

For four nights in December, the event invites visitors to stroll through the garden’s paths, where subtropical flora is illuminated with festive lights.

In 2022, the event is expanding with a holiday market in the park’s Galleria building.

Other fun includes visits with Santa, a live orchestra ensemble, holiday crafts for kids, a raffle, and sweets, treats and food for sale.

Once you’re done at the gardens, there are many decorated neighborhoods to explore in the Palma Sola and West Bradenton area.

The event is free, but donations help support the nonprofit park’s mission to preserve and promote the environment and landscaping practices through its grounds and educational programs.

• Details: 6-9 p.m. Dec. 15-18. Palma Sola Botanical Park, 9800 17th Ave. NW, Bradenton. Free (donations accepted).
• Info: palmasolabp.org

Selby Botanical Gardens

Now in its 19th year, “Lights in Bloom” at Marie Selby Botanical Gardens in downtown Sarasota has earned national acclaim as one of the best botanical holiday displays in the U.S.

Over 2 million lights are artfully arranged across Selby’s 15-acre downtown campus.

There are also games and kids’ activities to enjoy, and food and drink vendors

• Details: 6-9 p.m. Dec. 10-23, Dec. 26-Jan. 1 and Jan. 3-5. Selby Botanical Gardens, 900 S. Palm Ave., Sarasota. Adults: $30. Ages 5-17: $15. Children under 5: Free. Early entry tickets available for an upcharge.
• Info: selby.org.

Hunsader Farms

Hunsader Farms in Bradenton is getting in the holiday spirit this December with its annual Country Christmas party. The event includes displays of more than 300,000 lights, hayrides, train rides, campfires, snow tubing, Christmas movies, pictures with Santa, a petting zoo and more.

Check out craft vendors, fresh produce and plenty of food and drink options, too.

• Details: 6-10 p.m. Dec. 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 22 & 23. Hunsader Farms, 5500 C.R. 675, Bradenton. Admission: $15. Ages 5 and under: Free. Cash only. Free parking.
• Info: hunsaderfarms.com.

Local favorites

We recently asked Bradenton Herald readers for their favorite places to see Christmas lights around Manatee County. Here are their picks:

Bradenton:

• Palma Sola Botanical Park, 9800 17th Ave. N.W., Bradenton

• First Avenue West in Bradenton

• Swan Lake Village, 620 57th Ave. W., Bradenton

• Bayshore Gardens area of Bradenton

• 2307 49th Dr. E., Bradenton

• Riverview Boulevard along the Manatee River

• West Bradenton area

Lakewood Ranch and University Park:

• The Mall at University Town Center, 140 University Town Center Dr., Sarasota

• 7147 Spikerush Court in Lakewood Ranch

Palmetto:

• Lights of Palmetto, 5220 69th St. E., Palmetto

• Downtown Palmetto

• Palmetto Point neighborhood (located on Terra Ceia Bay, south of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge; turn west on 50th Street West off of U.S. 19)

• 1811 Ninth Street West in Palmetto

Parrish:

• Kingsfield community

Tampa Bay area:

• Shadrack’s Christmas Wonderland in Tampa, 18050 U.S. 301, Wimauma