The township's listing for Friday, November 20 runs like a stage manager's cue sheet. A visitor from the North Pole arrives at 5:45 p.m. The colors are presented at 5:55. The middle school music starts at 6:00. Then at "approximately" 7:30 comes a walk from the amphitheater at 1501 Mount Zion Road to the Springettsbury Holiday Tree, and the lights come on.
So the tree lighting comes after a long stretch of kids playing and singing. If you show up at 7:15 expecting the main event, you've missed about an hour and a quarter of it.
It's free, open to all ages, and you don't need to register. The township lists it from 5:45 to 8:30 p.m.
Ninety Minutes of Music, Then a Short Walk
Here's the 2026 order of events, straight from Springettsbury Township's event listing:
- 5:45 p.m. A visitor from the North Pole
- 5:55 p.m. The First Capitol Detachment of the Marine Corps League presents the colors for the national anthem
- 6:00 p.m. Middle school musical performances
- About 7:30 p.m. Processional to the Springettsbury Holiday Tree for the lighting
The opening is new this year. In 2025 the night started at 5:45 with the Marine Corps League presenting the colors, and nothing came before it. This year that slot moves back ten minutes so the North Pole visitor can go first. For families with small kids, that matters. If the visitor is the reason you're coming, be there by 5:45, not 6:00.
The middle stretch takes the most time. From 6:00 to about 7:30, the amphitheater is basically a holiday concert. The lighting comes about an hour before the 8:30 end time on the township's listing.
The Same Two Middle Schools Have Held the Stage for Years
This year's listing just says "Middle School musical performances" and doesn't name the groups. Past previews do, and the names barely change from year to year.
| Year | Billed as | York Suburban Middle School | Central York Middle School | Processional |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 12th annual | "Christmas Jazz Band," "Sounds of Tomorrow" | "Raise Your Voice," "Christmas Brass" | About 7:25 p.m. |
| 2024 | 21st annual | Same ensembles as 2025 | Same ensembles as 2025 | Canceled for rain |
| 2025 | 22nd annual | "Sounds of Tomorrow" chorale, Winter Band | "Raise Your Voice," Holiday Brass and Woodwinds in Wonderland | About 7:30 p.m. |
The York Daily Record's 2015 preview and the York Dispatch preview from November 2025 were written ten years apart, and both list "Sounds of Tomorrow" from York Suburban and "Raise Your Voice" from Central York. The band names change over the years. Jazz band turns into winter band, and brass picks up woodwinds and a "Wonderland" title. But the setup stays the same: one choral group and one instrumental group from each of the two middle schools. Even the processional time has only shifted about five minutes in a decade.
That consistency means a kid singing in "Sounds of Tomorrow" this year could have watched the same ensemble from the lawn as a little kid. It also makes the music as much a fixture of the evening as the tree itself. If the count holds from last year's 22nd, Friday is the 23rd year of the event.
One Rainy Forecast Canceled the Whole Night
Expect the music this year, but don't count on the event happening no matter what. On November 22, 2024, the day of the event, the township posted this:
"Unfortunately, due to rain in the forecast for this evening, the Holiday Tree Lighting event has been cancelled. We will still be collecting Toys for Tots in the Township Municipal Building, 1501 Mt. Zion Road. Please bring donations by next Wednesday, November 27th."
The township's cancellation notice was dated the day of the event and offered no makeup date. The township canceled because of the forecast. That year's ensembles had already been announced, so the rain cost those students their performance too.
The township says weather updates go out on springettsbury.com and its Facebook page, facebook.com/Springettsbury, and that's what it told people in 2025. If Friday's forecast looks wet, check one of those after lunch, before you load up the car. The 2024 notice was dated the day of the event, so a call made Thursday night may not be final.
Even with the stage dark in 2024, the toy drive kept going.
The Marines Collect Toys Whether or Not the Tree Lights
The group presenting the colors at 5:55 is also running the Toys for Tots table. The township says the First Capitol Detachment of the Marine Corps League will collect new, unwrapped toys and cash donations for the local Toys for Tots program.
The detachment has been around for decades. York City's write-up on the Marine Corps' 250th birthday says it was founded in 1983 by current and former active-duty Marines from York and York County, and that it supports charitable, social-service and veterans' groups, including the yearly Toys for Tots campaign. The York Toys for Tots campaign says it serves central and southern York County with the detachment's support, and it collects new, unwrapped toys in October, November and December.
If you can't make it Friday, or the weather cancels the event again, the campaign's drop-site list as of October 29, 2026 shows these East York locations:
- Sport Clips, 3013 East Market Street
- Belmont Bean Company, 18 South Belmont Street
- Major Restoration Services, 1214 East Market Street
- Ollie's Bargain Outlet, 1081 Haines Road
- Victory Athletic Association, 417 South Ogontz Street
- Five Below, 2825 Concord Road
- Del-Phia Athletic Association, 991 Edison Street
- Scholar Styles Beauty Bar, 1154 Mount Rose Avenue
- Office of Rep. Joe D'Orsie, 4186 Lincoln Highway East
The campaign says 2026 collection boxes are going out now and most should arrive by early November, so a few of these spots may only have just gotten theirs. Check the list before you make a special trip.
Picking Your Arrival Time
The night opens with about 90 minutes of music before the walk to the tree, so when you arrive depends on who you're bringing:
- Small kids who want to see the North Pole visitor. Be at the amphitheater by 5:45. The colors and anthem come ten minutes later, and the music starts at 6:00.
- Family of a York Suburban or Central York performer. Plan to be there from 6:00 until the processional. Past years' previews don't list a set order, so you could be waiting a while for your kid's group.
- People who mainly want the tree. Get there by 7:15 to catch the end of the music and the walk at about 7:30. The township calls the time "approximately," and it was 7:25 in 2015, so don't cut it close.
- Donating. Bring a new, unwrapped toy. If you can't stay for the lighting, the Marine Corps League table is there all night.
The event lasts until 8:30 p.m. at 1501 Mount Zion Road, the same address as the township's Municipal Building. That's where toys went the year the rain won.
If you're hanging lights on a Springettsbury house this year while wondering what it would sell for in the spring, I can get you a real answer before the holidays are over. Reach out to Spencer Blake for a free home valuation built on recent East York sales, not a countywide average.
