Napa Lighted Art Festival 2026

We had such a good time at the Napa Lighted Art Festival in 2024 and 2025 that there was no way we were going to miss it in 2026. This year's festival ran from January 17 - February 15. The best time to go was during the first nine days when there were projections on three downtown buildings in addition to the 15 other artworks. But between our Vegas trip and other commitments, we weren't able to go until after the projections had ended. It was a bit disappointing, but the upside is that there were no crowds when we went. 

In the past, we've had dinner first and then went to the Festival. This year, we did the reverse. We actually got to Napa shortly before sunset and immediately started looking for the twelve Roaming Gnomes, a new addition this year. 

  

  

Since we had some daylight, we were able to enjoy some of the permanent public art too.

   

That's the beautiful Napa River. And in the distance, the first piece of Lighted Art we visited. You can read about it, and the rest of the artworks, on the map at the bottom of this page. The names of the pieces and their artists are here as well. 

The piece has a pre-programmed light show that happens occasionally; that's what's going on in this photo. 

The rest of the time, visitors can touch the buttons on the lowest orbs, which send color upward. Where two colors meet, they mix. It doesn't work that well when you're alone though - I'm pushing the button for that single red and there's no one else around (except Steve, taking the picture) to generate another color. That's the downside of avoiding the crowds, I guess! 

Oooh, pretty!

I love these guys. 

  

These flowers weren't lighting properly, so we hung out for a bit while they tried to fix them. Even unlit, they were beautiful. 

More string art. 

The interactive pieces are some of our favorites. Here, each time you touch a panel, it cycles through a bunch of different colors. You can record individual designs to make an animation. So neat!

I took this picture, then walked forward to read about the artwork.

I hadn't realized Steve stayed back and took a picture of me silhouetted in the heart as it changed from reds to greens. Such a cool shot!

I like frogs. Who wouldn't? I'm glad there was enough light for me to photograph him. It's been a long time since Steve and I have done the Napa Art Walk during the daytime. We'll have to do that soon. 

Many of the artworks at the Napa Lighted Art Festival are color-changing. It's fascinating how they can portray such a different mood in two photos taken just a second or two apart. 

Gorgeous. 

As the color changes on this piece of art, different designs are revealed. 

There was projected artwork on the bridge over the Napa River. 

One one side of the bridge, there were poems in English and in Spanish.

On the other side, some very creative shoe designs. 

More Roaming Gnomes. 

  

I thought he was reading a book, but it's a map. 

He's located just outside Napa Yard, which is where we ate. We'd walked by it many times but this was our first time eating there. 

There was a private event in the restaurant, so we ate in the bar. Everything was absolutely delicious. 

We had so much fun at the Napa Lighted Art Festival and are already looking forward to going again in 2027!