Winter Wonder DeLand presented by Duke Energy and Wharton Smith Inc. will include some exciting and new changes for 2023!
Winter Wonder DeLand is a month long celebration of the holidays, where residents can enjoy the holiday lighting displays and ambiance in Downtown DeLand while also supporting the city’s local businesses and restaurants. Since inception, tens of thousands of lights have been added to Downtown DeLand through the Winter Wonder DeLand program.
Downtown areas that will be adorned in lights this year include Woodland Boulevard, Indiana Avenue, Chess Park and Pioneer Park. Of course, our acclaimed toy soldiers will be back to guard their respective downtown street corners.
New additions and programming being added to this year’s lighting display include:
The city's Christmas tree is moving to West Indiana Avenue in front of the historic Volusia County Courthouse. The tree itself is also new with more than 2,000 lights, ornaments and a star. The new location will lend itself as a more visible location spot for people to take photos.
The tree will be the centerpiece of Light Up DeLand on Friday, December 1. For quite some time, the city has had two lightings take place to kick off the holiday season. Instead, the City of DeLand and MainStreet DeLand Association will be joining forces to have one magnificent tree lighting. Light Up DeLand will have live music, an ice skating rink, and Santa Claus will make a dramatic entrance to help us light the city tree.
After the city's Streetscape project on West Indiana Avenue, the trees, which were traditionally lit in years past, were replaced and needed to mature. They have now grown enough for us to light them.