Cape Ann Winter Lights
✓ Last confirmed for the 2025 season
Where: Downtowns of Gloucester, Rockport, Essex, Ipswich, and Manchester-by-the-Sea, Gloucester, Massachusetts
When: November 30, 2025 - January 1, 2026
Hours: typically dusk – 10 PM
Cost: free
decorated storefront windowslit town Christmas treesvisitor voting competitionneighborhood
Cape Ann's towns compete in a friendly window-decorating contest, with storefronts and town trees lit from late November through New Year's Day and visitors voting on their favorites.
Best time to arrive. Sunset in Gloucester is around 4:10 PM in mid-December, fully dark by about 4:42 PM. A typical December night here bottoms out near 21°F, so dress for standing around outside.
Other displays nearby
There are 0 other displays within 5 miles of this one, and 2 within 15 miles. Most people make a loop of it rather than driving out for a single house.