At about 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21, a 40-foot star with 100 bulbs will come on above downtown Castle Rock, and fireworks will follow if the weather cooperates. Streets start closing at 6 a.m. that morning, and the shuttles run until 8 p.m.
Most of Starlighting day is the logistics around that one moment. Once the star is on, it stays on for most of the winter. That gives you two plans to make. One is how to get downtown and back on Saturday. The other is which evenings between now and late January you'll spend under the star after the crowd goes home.
Plan Saturday backward from 5:30
The Castle Rock Chamber of Commerce has run Starlighting since 1962, and the 2026 program follows a familiar outline. The festival fills Historic Wilcox Square and Festival Park, the Chili Supper is at Fire Station 151, admission is free, and Chamber sales are cashless, so bring a card. Here's the day in order:
- 6:00 a.m. Street closures begin on Perry Street from 5th to 2nd, North Wilcox from 5th to 3rd, 4th Street from Jerry to Perry, and 3rd and 2nd Streets from Wilcox to Perry.
- 1:00 p.m. Free shuttles start running.
- 2:00 p.m. The festival opens. The Biff Gore Band plays the Main Stage at 4th and Wilcox until 4:45, Santa is in Festival Park until 4:15, and the Chili Supper opens at Fire Station 151.
- 5:00 p.m. The ceremony starts on the Main Stage, hosted by FOX31's Kirk Yuhnke, Great Day Colorado's Denise Plante and the Douglas County Sheriff's Office's Deborah Takahara.
- About 5:30 p.m. The star lights, with fireworks right after.
- 6:00 p.m. The festival wraps up.
- 8:00 p.m. The streets reopen and the last shuttles run.
The Kids Zone sits on 4th Street just west of Wilcox, with face painting, a petting zoo, games and a Humvee. Four Chamber beverage tents serve adult drinks alongside the food trucks and hot chocolate.
The schedule matters for families with young kids. Santa leaves Festival Park at 4:15 and the band stops at 4:45, so there's a 15-minute gap before the ceremony. If you want both Santa and the star, aim to arrive by mid-afternoon and stay through 5:30. If you only want the lighting, everything before 5 is optional.
The shuttle starts half an hour earlier this year
The 2026 shuttles run from 1 to 8 p.m. Last year's map listed service from 1:30 to 8 p.m. That extra half hour lets you park outside downtown, ride in and be at Festival Park well before the 2 p.m. start.
There are three pickup lots and two routes:
| Park here | Address | Route | Downtown drop-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| AdventHealth Castle Rock, Alexander Parking Lot | 2350 Meadows Blvd. | Route 1 | 5th Street and Wilcox Street |
| Douglas County High School, South Building | 2842 Front Street | Route 1 | 5th Street and Wilcox Street |
| Douglas County Fairgrounds, Lot 5 | 500 Fairgrounds Drive | Route 2 | Between South and Phelps Streets, by Eternal Rock Lutheran Church and the Folkestad Fazekas buildings |
Return shuttles pick up where they dropped riders off. They loop back to one specific lot, so board the bus marked for the lot where you parked. The event map also shows the Fairgrounds shuttle and trolley dropping off near the Encore Parking Garage.
If you'd rather drive in, the Chamber points to two downtown garages: Encore at Wilcox and Perry, and the garage at 3rd and Jerry. It also links the Town of Castle Rock's downtown parking map. The event map's warning is printed in capital letters, and it's the one to remember: "DO NOT PARK ON OR NEAR THE TRAIN TRACKS. YOU WILL BE TOWED!"
The Chili Supper runs on a different clock
Castle Rock Professional Firefighters serve the 90th Annual Chili Supper at Fire Station 151, with beef chili, nachos, hot dogs, drinks and desserts. The map lists it from 2 to 6 p.m., "while supplies last." The stage runs on a fixed schedule, but the supper ends whenever the food does. If chili is part of your plan, go before the ceremony instead of after the fireworks.
The firehouse link goes back to the star's beginning. Castle Rock Hose Co. No. 1 built the star, and Castle Rock Fire and Rescue still maintains it. 9News reported that the department's Keepers of the Star crew works on it year-round. The same report quoted History Colorado's Shaun Boyd describing the annual routine: "They actually go up there every year, change out all the light bulbs, make sure the wiring's correct."
Someone has already bid on the switch
On stage, the star comes on with a flip of a switch, and the Chamber auctions that job each year. Online bidding for the 2026 Flip the Switch auction closes today, Thursday, Nov. 12. The winner flips the switch on the Main Stage, gets recognized from the stage, and receives photography of the moment. The money supports two Chamber programs, the Veterans Alliance and Tours for Teachers. Bids are taken on the Chamber's Flip the Switch auction page.
The star has been lit for more than holidays
The star first came on in 1936. In 9News's account, it has also marked moments that had nothing to do with December. At the end of World War II, the bulbs formed a "V" for victory. The star was lit again after Sept. 11, 2001, relit in March 2020 during the pandemic, and turned on for the Denver Broncos' Super Bowl wins in 1998 and 2015. This year, Castle Rock Fire and Rescue announced plans to light it in red, white and blue for America's 250th anniversary and Colorado Day. The department also said a new bronze sign had been installed.
Nov. 21 is the night the holiday lighting begins, and that season runs well past December.
The evenings after the ceremony
Three December events bring people back downtown, and to Philip S. Miller Park, while the star is lit:
- Festival Park Starlight Market, Friday, Dec. 4, 3 to 8 p.m. Festival Park, 300 Second St. More than 40 vendors, a decorated 40-foot tree, hot cocoa, food trucks and holiday music.
- Starlight Market, day two, Saturday, Dec. 5, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Same Festival Park location.
- Reindeer Games, Saturday, Dec. 5, 1 to 4 p.m. This one is at the Amphitheater at Philip S. Miller Park, not downtown. Live reindeer, Santa, crafts, games and hot chocolate.
- Storytellers and S'mores, Saturday, Dec. 12, 5 to 7 p.m. Festival Park, free.
Dec. 5 is the day to plan around. Reindeer Games ends at 4 p.m. on the west side of town, and the market stays open downtown until 7, so one afternoon can cover both. Storytellers and S'mores starts at 5 p.m., the same hour the Starlighting ceremony begins, and it sits right below the star.
When the star goes dark
Per 9News, the star traditionally stays lit through the holiday season and switches off when the National Western Stock Show ends in January. The 2027 Stock Show runs Jan. 9 to 24. If the tradition holds, the star will shine over Castle Rock from Nov. 21 to Jan. 24, a little more than nine weeks.
The ceremony and fireworks happen only on Nov. 21. The star stays on every night after that, including Dec. 4, when the Starlight Market in Festival Park runs until 8 p.m.
New to Castle Rock this season, or arriving on a PCS move right as the star goes up? Colorado's Choice Homes can help you get your bearings, from shuttle lots to the parts of town that see the Rock best. Ask us for a Free Home Valuation or Relocation Plan, and we'll help make your first Starlighting easy.
