(Image Credit: CFJC Today File Photo)

By Victor Kaisar

Wildlights 2025

Annual Wildlights holiday display underway at BC Wildlife Park in Kamloops

Dec 13, 2025 | 4:16 PM

KAMLOOPS — The 28th edition of Wildlights at the BC Wildlife Park in Kamloops is underway with well over a million lights and festive displays on offer.

BC Wildlife Park General Manager Glenn Grant says while the annual holiday lights display features a number of returning displays, park staff also try to include something new each year.

“Folks that were out last year would have seen Fred Flintstone and his car. We’ve now added Barney, Wilma and Betty,” Grant told CFJC.

“The Transformers scene which we haven’t seen since the old Boo at the Zoo pre-COVID has all been re-roped with a new generation of brighter rope lights and its near the station. That’s also going to be new this year that people haven’t seen in a long long time.”

This year’s edition of Wildlights will also feature an appearance by the Kamloops Blazers on Jan. 4, 2026.

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“They had some time and asked ‘hey, do you mind if the players all come out along with Digger on the last night of the event?’ and we said ‘that would be absolutely fantastic,'” Grant added, noting its the latest in the park’s ongoing partnership with the junior hockey team.

Other regular favourites – like Uncle Chris the Clown, Disney princesses, the Wildlife Express train, and Santa and Mrs. Claus – will also be back this year, Grant confirmed.

Wildlights will run nightly between 4:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. until Jan. 4, 2026 with the exception of Christmas Day. The lights turn on at 5:00 p.m. each night.

Grant says the BC Wildlife Park is expecting another good turnout this year, as the last two editions of Wildlights were among the best ever in the park’s history, in part because of milder December temperatures.

“Our budget is 25,000 attendees, which is a few thousand short of the record of about 28,000. I think we’ll be pretty close to that,” Grant said, noting the 23-day event accounts for a sizable chunk of the park’s revenue and overall attendance each year.

“People are still wanting to get out. We’re not going to be that cold and if we get a little bit of snow, it will draw some people out. It always looks way better with a little bit of snow.”

Grant also recommends that people buy their tickets online so they can skip the lineup at the entrance to the park. Information on tickets and other details can be found here.