At 6 p.m. on Saturday, November 28, Mayor John W. Ewing Jr. and STAR 104.5's Sadie Grey will lead the countdown at Gene Leahy Mall. That countdown opens the 27th season of Omaha's Holiday Lights Festival. In early October, the city set a goal of clearing the streetcar construction barriers around the mall by the end of October. WOWT reported the timing was meant to let festival visitors focus on the lights instead of the construction.
Streetcar construction continues through the holiday season. The Old Market lights cover 10th to 13th Streets and Farnam to Jackson Streets. Inside that area, Farnam's track is done. Harney, one block south and right in the middle of the display, is scheduled to stay under construction into early 2027. The festival runs every night from November 28 through January 1, so that split shapes every downtown outing between now and then.
Farnam got its permanent look in time
The Omaha Streetcar Authority's Old Market update for the week of October 26 says track construction is complete on the north side of Farnam between 11th Street and just east of 13th. Farnam Street parking has been changed to its permanent parallel layout. On October 26, WOWT confirmed that traffic control on that stretch of Farnam was coming down. The station said 11th Street south of Harney and 16th Street between Howard and Harney had reopened that Monday.
Farnam is where downtown's two main light displays meet. Gene Leahy Mall covers 13th to 8th Streets between Douglas and Farnam. Along with the Old Market blocks, it anchors a RiverFront display that spans all 72 acres of the park. That display starts at 13th Street and runs through the mall and Heartland of America Park to Lewis & Clark Landing. Each Friday and Saturday during the season, the mall runs a multimedia show of about seven minutes, every hour. It includes video projected onto the Performance Pavilion and the Burlington Building, themed video on the 10th Street Bridge LED wall, and music throughout the park.
There is still work going on at the 10th Street end. A streetcar station near 10th is still being built, and the authority expects that zone to be done in late fall 2026. KETV reported that 10th Street between Farnam and Harney closed around 5:45 a.m. on Wednesday, October 28, so crews could lay a curved section of track across it. The closure was expected to last about two weeks. If that estimate holds, 10th Street reopens a little more than two weeks before the lighting ceremony.
Harney runs through the middle of the lights
South of Farnam, the authority describes a different situation. In the Harney 10th to 13th work zone, more demolition is planned. The update warns that saw cutting and moving equipment may be loud, including early in the morning, and gives early 2027 as the target finish. Harney between 10th and 11th was set to close for about two weeks starting October 26. Lane closures on the south side of Harney continue as track goes in, and intersections along the route close as the work moves.
This matters for one of downtown's biggest holiday draws. The Durham Museum, at 801 S. 10th St., opens Christmas at Union Station on November 27 and runs it through January 10. Getting from the Old Market to the Durham on foot means crossing Harney.
Here is how the downtown segments stood in the authority's late-October updates:
| Segment | Status in late October | Expected finish |
|---|---|---|
| Farnam, 11th to just east of 13th | Track complete, permanent parallel parking in place | Station work near 10th: late fall 2026 |
| 10th Street, Farnam to Harney | Closed Oct. 28 for curved track | About two weeks |
| Harney, 10th to 13th | Demolition and track work, south-side lane closures | Early 2027 |
| Harney, 14th to 18th | Track construction | Spring 2027 |
| Farnam, 14th to 18th | Pole foundations and conduit | Summer 2027 |
| Farnam and Harney, 20th to 24th, plus 24th Street | Final major utility closure | At least one lane by Thanksgiving; utility work ends after New Year's |
Thanksgiving is the next date to watch
West of the festival blocks, construction will run through the holidays. The authority's downtown page says the utility phase is 90% complete. It describes the closures of Farnam and Harney between 20th and 24th, and of 24th Street, as the last major utility closure, lasting about two months with local access maintained. In a statement to WOWT, Public Works said at least one lane would be open by Thanksgiving and all utility work would finish after New Year's. Public Works also asked drivers to use GPS apps and allow extra time through the corridor.
The city has announced no holiday pause. The only pause on record this year was in June, when some downtown work stopped and the 10th Street, Farnam and Harney corridors reopened for the College World Series. 3 News Now reported that work would resume once the series ended.
Businesses in that stretch are still open and can still be reached. Zen Coffee Company's flagship near 24th Avenue and Farnam can be reached from South 25th Street and Douglas, according to WOWT. Farther west, Betty Rae's Ice Cream is holding its grand opening at 3220 Farnam on November 4 and 5. It is the Kansas City-founded shop's fourth Omaha location. In Midtown, the authority told WOWT in early October that westbound track work was almost finished and that eastbound work, targeted for the end of October, would leave Farnam's westbound lane open.
The season, date by date
Most of the season's big events happen on or next to the finished blocks. The busiest day in the calendar is also the one with free transportation between venues.
- Friday, November 27: The Durham's tree lighting runs from 4 to 8 p.m. White Christmas – The Exhibition returns the same day with more items from the film, including costumes, props, sheet music and archival material.
- Saturday, November 28: The lighting ceremony at Gene Leahy Mall starts with music at 5 p.m., followed by the ceremony at 6. The Durham's holiday concert series also starts and runs through December 22.
- Tuesdays, December 1, 8, 15 and 22: Family Nights with Santa at the Durham.
- Friday, December 4: The Durham's Holiday Cultural Festival runs from 4 to 9 p.m.
- Sunday, December 6: The KETV Family Festival runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Omaha Police Mounted Patrol Barn, The Durham Museum, Omaha Children's Museum, the Omaha Public Library Downtown Branch, Heartland of America Park and Joslyn Art Museum. Ollie the Trolley and charter buses provide free rides between venues. Joslyn, at 2200 Dodge St., is offering a free drop-in program with art-making, gallery experiences, tours and performances.
- Thursday, December 31: The Durham's Noon Year's Eve runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fireworks start at 7 p.m.
On December 6, the free trolley and buses connect the Durham at 801 S. 10th St. with Joslyn at 2200 Dodge St., and with the RiverFront in between, so festival visitors can get around without parking at each stop.
The festival also lights two neighborhood corridors away from downtown. One is North 24th Street from Burdette Street to Ohio Street. The other is South 24th Street from L Street to Q Street.
New Year's Eve has no set viewing area
The festival's finale is set up to work on whichever streets are open. The fireworks go off near Heartland of America Park at The RiverFront. The festival lists no set parking or designated viewing area and names The RiverFront and the Old Market as the best places to watch. The show is choreographed to a score J&M Displays wrote for the event, and STAR 104.5 broadcasts it live at 7 p.m. for listeners in their cars or on their phones. Park Omaha meters are free after 5 p.m.
In the Old Market, the easiest place to watch on December 31 is likely to be the finished stretch of Farnam and the mall, where the city aimed to have barriers removed by the end of October. Harney will be about a month from its early-2027 finish target. Closures change week to week, and the Omaha Streetcar Authority's construction updates post the current block-by-block status for the Old Market and the rest of the downtown route.
Streetcar service to the public is expected to start in September 2028. This holiday season, the Old Market and RiverFront displays open on a downtown where some streets have their finished layout and others are still being built. If you're weighing what the new Farnam corridor means for a home or property downtown or in Midtown, Black Tie Realty would be glad to walk through it with you, block by block. Let's Begin.
