In a split vote, the St. Augustine City Commission on Monday chose to keep the Nights of Lights season at roughly eight weeks while adjusting its schedule, attempting to reconcile growing frustration from residents and the economic worries of local merchants.
Commissioners voted 3–2 to set the event from the Saturday before Thanksgiving through the Tuesday after the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend.
Last year, Nights of Lights ran from the second Saturday before Thanksgiving through the second Sunday in January, ending before the MLK holiday weekend.
The decision restores the traditional start date and brings the festival back through a key tourism period, while still ending earlier than the long-standing late-January schedule used in past years.
Vice Mayor Barbara Blonder and Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline cast the dissenting votes, favoring last year’s schedule, which ended before the MLK holiday weekend.
Their position reflected a preference for avoiding extending crowds into another high-traffic period.
City leaders were otherwise aligned on the need to limit the duration compared to the historic format, which had stretched into the final weeks of January.
That longer season, especially in 2024–25, drew record crowds that strained infrastructure, clogged streets, and disrupted daily life for residents in and around the historic district.
Residents have become increasingly vocal on the matter, arguing the event has grown beyond what the city can reasonably absorb.
At the same time, business owners and tourism officials emphasized the festival’s economic importance – and argued that January is generally the time that locals attend Nights of Lights because of smaller crowds.
Merchants stress that Nights of Lights generates tens of millions of dollars in direct spending and supports local hotels, restaurants, and retailers during what is typically a slower winter season.
They have, by and large, lobbied for a longer duration.
January was highlighted as a particularly important period to sustain visitor activity after the post-holiday lull.
The final compromise reflects those competing priorities. By restoring the traditional start date and extending through MLK weekend, the city preserves key revenue-driving dates.
The vote highlights the ongoing challenge in St. Augustine of managing a signature festival whose popularity continues to test the equilibrium between vitality and quality of life.
