If family arrives the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and wants to see "the Frisco lights," which lights do they mean? Frisco's season sits at three addresses, and each runs on a different schedule. Riders Field opens every night and charges by the car. Frisco Square opens every night and charges nothing. The Star puts on its show only on Friday and Saturday evenings, at 6 p.m. sharp, for 20 minutes.

Knowing which schedule you're working with is the whole job of planning a holiday evening in Frisco this season. Frisco Square also gets more of the season than its reputation suggests. It has the nightly show and the ice rink, and on Dec. 5 it hosts the city's own festival, which is called Merry Main Street but isn't held on Main Street.

Riders Field Is Already Running

The Light Park at Riders Field opened Nov. 6, so it is the only one of the three running before Nov. 20. It is a mile-long drive-through show at 7300 RoughRiders Trail, with lights set to music, and it runs daily through Jan. 3, 2027. Hours are 5:30 to 10 p.m. on most Sundays through Thursdays and 5:30 to 11 p.m. on most Fridays and Saturdays. The listing tells visitors to check the website for holiday hours and to buy tickets before they arrive.

Admission is priced per car, not per person, and tickets are good any night of the run, rain or shine. The presale price ended Nov. 5, so check The Light Park's Frisco page for the current rate before you buy. Because the price covers the whole car, a visiting group pays the same as a couple, and you never leave your seat. That makes it the easiest choice for a cold or wet night, and for the stretch of mid-November before the other two locations light up.

Frisco Square Takes Over on November 20

Christmas in the Square returns on Friday, Nov. 20, starting at 6 p.m., for its 21st season. It runs every night from 6 to 10 p.m. through Jan. 4, 2027, and it is free. Frisco Square's event page calls it the largest choreographed holiday lights and music show in North Texas and says it draws more than 125,000 visitors a year.

Frisco's Jeff Trykoski of Illumimax, LLC choreographs the show. This year it includes more than 180,000 lights, 200 dancing snowflakes and a 10-song program. Recent upgrades added 4,000 feet of roof-edge color-changing LED lighting and 3,000 feet of color-changing canopy. You can watch from your car with the radio tuned to 107.3 FM, or walk the Square and hear the music through speakers. Frisco Square is presenting visits with Santa and horse-drawn carriage rides this season as well.

On the same block, Skate the Square opens its 16th season the same night. Frisco Square describes it as the area's only real-ice outdoor rink. The rink sits at Main and Coleman, next to Firehouse Subs, and runs Nov. 20 through Jan. 4, 2027. Here are the details:

• Price: $25 per person, with or without skates. The online booking adds a fee, so a one-hour skate with rental comes to $27.38.
• Sessions: One hour each, starting at 4:00, 5:15, 6:30, 7:45 and 9:00 p.m.
• Closed: Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

The rink's last session starts at 9 p.m. and the light show runs until 10, so you can skate and then watch the show without moving the car. Frisco Square is the only one of the three locations where an evening can include more than one activity, any night of the week, at no cost beyond the rink.

Merry Main Street Is Held at the Square, Too

Downtown Frisco has a new plaza this year. Main Street's widened sidewalks, the 4th Street Plaza with its stage and lawn, and a five-story garage came out of the Rail District's $83 million rebuild, which The Dallas Morning News reported was officially opened after an Oct. 13 ribbon-cutting. Community Impact reported in September that construction on the plaza was complete and that it had opened to the public.

Even so, the city's biggest holiday festival is staying where it was. The City of Frisco's calendar lists Merry Main Street for Saturday, Dec. 5, from 3 to 7:30 p.m. at Simpson Plaza, 6101 Frisco Square Blvd. Texas Health Hospital Frisco presents the festival. It includes the Santa & Friends Parade, a holiday gift market, Frisco ISD elementary choir performances, photos with Santa, and the City Tree Lighting.

So the festival, the free nightly show and the rink are all at Frisco Square. If you're searching for a parking spot on Dec. 5, look around Simpson Plaza, not the Rail District's new garage.

The Star Runs on Weekends Only

The Star's holiday show is the shortest and runs on the tightest schedule. The 10th annual Cowboys Christmas Extravaganza, powered by Reliant, takes place on Tostitos Championship Plaza at Ford Center, 9 Cowboys Way. It runs every Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. from Nov. 20 through Dec. 19 and lasts 20 minutes. The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders open the show, and a Cowboys legend then lights The Star's 67-foot LED Christmas tree. Sixty-six game-day performers take part, including Rowdy, the Cowboys Rookie Squad and Santa, and the evening closes with tree lights set to original Christmas music, plus pyrotechnics. Admission is free.

The full schedule has ten nights:

All appearances are subject to change, and the show is canceled in bad weather. The Star's web calendar and social accounts post any cancellations. The Thanksgiving weekend pair, Nov. 27 and 28, is the only time the show falls during the long holiday weekend. The Dec. 5 show starts while Merry Main Street is still going at Simpson Plaza.

The Star's other holiday draw keeps longer hours. Santa at The Star runs Nov. 20 through Dec. 24 at Santa's Cottage, 3625 The Star Blvd. Photo packages start at $39, and the listing offers $5 off bookings made before Dec. 6 with the code STAR5. If you want dinner before a 6 p.m. show, The Imperial Room opened at The Star in October, at 3685 The Star Blvd., #200, and takes reservations.

November 20 Is the Only Night All Three Are Lit

Riders Field opened two weeks earlier, The Star runs only on weekends, and Frisco Square switches on Nov. 20. That puts every location in operation on the same Friday. HALL Park adds a fourth event that night. Here is how the evening of Nov. 20 lines up:

1. 4 p.m. The first Skate the Square session starts at Main and Coleman.
2. 5:30 p.m. The Light Park opens its gates at Riders Field.
3. 6 p.m. Christmas in the Square lights up for the first time this season.
4. 6 p.m. Drew Pearson lights The Star's tree at the first Cowboys Christmas Extravaganza.
5. 6 to 9 p.m. Kaleidoscope Christmas takes over the Performance Lawn at Kaleidoscope Park, with live reindeer, performances by local schools, seasonal treats, Santa, photo opportunities and a tree lighting. Admission is free.

Three of those start at 6 p.m., so opening night means choosing one. The calendar softens the choice. Kaleidoscope Christmas happens only once, and The Star repeats its show on nine more weekend nights. Frisco Square stays lit every night through Jan. 4, and The Light Park runs through Jan. 3.

If you'd rather have a quieter start, the night before offers one. The Illuminate concert "Christmas Movie Classics" plays Thursday, Nov. 19, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Frisco Heritage Museum, 6455 Page St. Tickets are $20.

From Nov. 20 on, a weekday holiday evening in Frisco has two options, Riders Field and Frisco Square. Fridays and Saturdays add The Star's 6 p.m. show. On Dec. 5, the Saturday with the most going on, the city's festival, the nightly show and the rink all share the same few blocks around Simpson Plaza.

If houseguests are coming this season, or you're mapping out the evenings around a move, Patton International Properties is glad to share what we know about Frisco's calendar, from Riders Field to Frisco Square. Let's Connect.