Winter Wonderlights is heading back to Sovereign Hill, and this season could be its most significant to date.
The annual Ballarat event opens on 26 June and runs through to 19 July, marking 12 years of turning the heritage museum into a glowing winter spectacle. Somewhere during the 2026 season, Winter Wonderlights will tick over its one millionth visitor — a considerable milestone given last year alone attracted more than 96,000 people through the gates.
Leading the new additions is Reflections of Winter, a symphonic installation at the Sovereign Hill dam. The show transforms the water and surrounding trees into the emotional centrepiece of the trail, building from icy stillness into warmth and celebration. It runs every 15 minutes during both standard and late-night windows, with food, drinks and a visit from St Nicholas all on-site at the dam.
Winter Wonderlights
- 26 June to 19 July
- Sovereign Hill, Ballarat
- Day tickets (10am–7pm): adults $77.50, concession $62, children (5–15) $40, family $199
- Night tickets (8pm–10pm): adults $45, concession $35, children $25, family $110
- Children under five enter free
- Evening sessions are sold out
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
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Main Street also gets a fresh light projection this year. Themed around the Industrial Revolution, the display draws on the mechanical innovations of the 19th century and kicks in right after the nightly Wonderlights countdown.
There are three ways to take it all in. Day tickets cover the full stretch from 10am to 7pm, including gold panning, live shows and the complete light trail as the sun sets. Night tickets open up a late session on select dates from 8pm to 10pm, with an exclusive soundscape through the old diggings and a more subdued, grown-up atmosphere. Evening sessions, which ran from 5pm to 7pm, have already sold out.
On the merch front, Sovereign Hill has partnered with Ballarat knitwear outfit Interknit to produce a range of Winter Wonderlights Christmas jumpers, beanies and scarves made from local wool. It marks the first time the event has offered its own branded merchandise.
For more information, head here.
