Light up your weekend

The Gardens, Libraries and Museums will be staging a range of illuminating events from 15 to 17 November as part of this year’s Christmas Light Festival.

Discovery is the theme of this year’s annual festive celebration, inspired by the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, and local residents will be invited to discover their city in a new light thanks to specially commissioned light and sound installations on some of Oxford’s most iconic buildings.

Visitors at the Christmas Light Festival

Friday 15th

Start your evening in the Ashmolean from 5pm, with festive song and family drop-in activity. Then head to the Weston Library on Broad Street from 6pm to create collaged Christmas cards based on the Bodleian’s special collections and treat yourself to mulled cider and mince pies in the café.

Cross the road to the History of Science Museum for lunar-inspired activities and close encounters with objects. Try your hand at making lunar dials and drawings of the moon with Galilean telescopes, view Georges Méliès’ 1902 film A Trip to the Moon, and settle down for traditional stories from different countries inspired by the moon and the sky.

And finish your evening at the Museum of Natural History and Pitt Rivers Museum for a celebration of the amazing diversity in the natural world and human culture, with talks, tours, poetry, music and dance, plus a dazzling diversity-themed light and sound show by Luxmuralis on the museum façade.

One World Festival

Saturday 16th

Head to the Bodleian Libraries from 6pm for a breathtaking lightshow as the Old Schools Quadrangle is transformed with images from the Talking Maps exhibition. The lightshow lasts approximately 20 minutes and is repeated throughout the evening.

Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th

Celebrate the communities and faiths of Oxfordshire through a free weekend of activities at the One World Festival at the Ashmolean Museum. Drop in between 12pm and 4pm for music, performance, storytelling, talks and craft for all ages, then browse the One World Food Market in the heated marquee on the museum forecourt and enjoy delicious vegetarian treats, from Indian street food to vegan hots dogs. 

For more information visit the Oxford's Christmas Light Festival website.