Brookfield Zoo Chicago

Grab your glow sticks for a two-mile fun run at Brookfield Zoo. Participants of all ages are welcome—including children in strollers—so bring the whole family for your first chance to see this year’s holiday lights at the zoo. After the race, hang out in the pavilions, where there will be food and drinks for purchase along with live music.

More than two million lights cover the trees, fences and structures in the Brookfield Zoo at this annual holiday event, which is now in its fourth decade. Guests can walk through a 300-foot-long tunnel featuring colored lights synchronized to music, spot larger-than-life illuminated animal sculptures, gaze up at a 41-foot-tall lit tree and warm up with concessions such as funnel cakes, pizza, spiced wine and hot cocoa.