Attendees look at a Hollywood-themed display as part of the IllumaNation holiday lights at the Santa Barbara Zoo, opening Wednesday.
Attendees look at a Hollywood-themed display as part of the IllumaNation holiday lights at the Santa Barbara Zoo, opening Wednesday. Credit: Pricila Flores / Noozhawk photo

For two months, once the sun goes down, the Santa Barbara Zoo will glow with its reimagined annual light displays.

The attraction, lllumaNature: California Coastin’, is reimagining the zoo’s annual ZooLights and will debut Wednesday at 500 Niños Drive. It leaves “no blank canvas,” Charles Hopper, Santa Barbara Zoo president and CEO, told Noozhawk. 

“The community has come to love ZooLights, but we thought because the community loved it so much, we need to reinvent it and reimagine what it can be,” Hopper said.

The IllumaNature displays will be available until Jan. 10, with tickets starting at $39.95 for adults. Tickets for IllumaNature are separate from regular admission tickets to the zoo. 

In previous years, the annual ZooLights had a new theme each year, but people didn’t seem to know it was changing, Hopper said.

Now, each year will be called IllumaNature, with a different theme.

A coastline-themed zone lights up a walkway at the Santa Barbara Zoo as part of its holiday display.
A coastline-themed zone lights up a walkway at the Santa Barbara Zoo as part of its holiday display. Credit: Pricila Flores / Noozhawk photo

This year’s theme, California Coastin’, is meant to transport attendees to seven parts of the Golden State to celebrate its landscape, including Santa Barbara, the redwoods, mountains, deserts, Bay Area, Hollywood and the coastline.

Attendees can stroll through the zoo and see glowing displays of wildlife creatures, striking light displays and interact with projections scattered across the grounds as holiday music fills the air.

Also new this year is a nighttime train ride. Attendees can hop aboard for a short ride around the zoo to see even more light displays and other parts of the zoo accessible only by the train.

Additionally, the Santa Barbara Zoo will host a low-sensory night on Thursday, a day after opening night, featuring adjusted lighting effects and reduced music and sound levels, according to zoo spokeswoman Andrea Gruber.

Neon blue lights course through a whale structure as part of the IllumaNation holiday display at the Santa Barbara Zoo.
Neon blue lights course through a whale structure as part of the IllumaNation holiday display at the Santa Barbara Zoo. Credit: Pricila Flores / Noozhawk photo

On Dec. 10, there will be an adults-only night. 

Hopper told Noozhawk that this year’s California theme is closely tied to the Santa Barbara Zoo’s mission.

“There’s no better way to remind our audience of the importance of the work that we do than to celebrate the beauty of the region,” he said.

IllumaNature will run from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. through Jan. 10.

Pricila Flores is a Noozhawk staff writer and California Local News Fellow. She can be reached at pflores@noozhawk.com.