Please note: This is an update of our article about the inaugural, 2024 event. See below for information that has been changed to reflect 2025’s event.
Less than a minute into attending Bright Nights at Four Mile, it hit me – I was seeing beautiful lights and a stunning, magical installation outside and I wasn’t freezing my butt off! I’m a sucker for holiday light shows such as at Denver Botanic Gardens at York Street and at Chatfield Farms and Hudson Gardens – not to mention throughout downtown Denver. But they all have one thing in common – they happen during the coldest times of year and we’re all bundled up and shivering, trying not to rush through except for the fact that we’re so darned cold. I’ve always wished there was a warm-weather alternative and here it is! (See our Know Before You Go tips below and YouTube video to see it in action.)
Bright Nights is an illuminated art event at Four Mile Historic Park, on 12-acres with a working farm, Denver’s oldest standing structure, the Four Mile House Museum, and artifacts from the mid- to late-1800s. This is the second year for Bright Nights, a fundraiser for the Museum and its animals. It’s the first time I attended and I felt like a giddy kid.
The larger-than-life (waaaay larger) lanterns are created by Tianyu, a Chicago-based company, that is the largest producer of Chinese lantern festivals in North America. This is the only lantern art installation in the Mountain West. And when I say “lanterns,” I don’t mean the kind of thing you hang to provide light. These are huge sculptures that are fun to see during the day but that are so much more at night, with vibrant colors, moving parts, sound, even smoke coming out of nostrils.
Per the website for 2025: “New this Year: Wander through the whimsical Farmhouse Flora and Fauna, step into a surreal Chinese Dreamland, and dive into an expanded interactive zone full of surprises.”
Also new this year are Bright Nights Adult Nights at Four Mile:
For a child-free experience, adults-only nights take place from 7-11pm on Wednesdays, July 30, Aug. 27 and Sept. 17, with DJs, additional sponsor activations and more. Perfect for date nights or outings with friends, Adult Nights offer the chance to sip, stroll through the glow of magical lights and enjoy live music kid-free. Adult Night guests must be 21+ to enter. More information and tickets can be found here.
As mentioned above, several local botanical gardens have had very successful holiday light displays that mean big business and help augment revenue they might otherwise miss out on during non-flowering seasons. But I’ve never heard of a living history museum doing this kind of thing and on such a massive scale. Last year, in 2024, I asked Morgan Gengenbach, the director of operations at Four Mile Historic Park about this.
“We’re certainly glad to be breaking ground for our subset of museums and cultural sites in this way and are grateful to be able to take advantage of opportunities other institutions have been enjoying for some time now so that we can serve both the needs of the historic Four Mile House and the public’s interests,” says Gengenbach. “While some folks might not expect to see a historic site lit up like this, we feel that it is our responsibility, as stewards of this remarkable place, to embrace opportunities to create new memories and new history with, and in service of, our community. Because 4MHP is both a historic site and proudly counts itself among Denver’s unique constellation of city parks, we’re interested in engaging both history-minded visitors by embracing the historic 1800’s aesthetic for most of the year, and our neighbors with a greater interest in arts & culture offerings like Bright Nights.”
Gengenbach continued to tell me it has been more than 50 years since the last major restorations were done to the house so Bright Nights helps them reach the goal of making that happen.
When visiting Four Mile Historic Park during the day, the sculptures are obvious – you can’t miss them because they are everywhere. I wondered if daytime visitors to the museum end up wanting to come to Bright Nights in the evening to see what they are all about – and vice versa.
“Absolutely!,” says Gengenbach. “Bright Nights drives an exponential increase in traffic to the Park. In 2023, about 40,000 people visited Four Mile to see the Bright Nights program; that’s 40,000 people who now know where to find us; who are or who know teachers and parents who might be interested in educational field trips; who will know where to find us for our annual Pumpkin Harvest Festival; and who will consider a visit for a tour of the Four Mile House and a visit to the livestock as an affordable place to spend a day off of school or work. We’re expecting an even greater turnout in 2024!
“So often we hear people say, “oh, I ride my bike past there on the Cherry Creek Trail all the time but have never come in until I heard about Bright Nights.” With that in mind, we’re delighted that this exciting partnership program is an accessible and enticing entry point for visitors, who we hope will be excited to come back to peruse the grounds, visit the livestock, become members, and engage with local history and preservation efforts year-round!”
Know Before You Go to Bright Nights:
When: Wednesdays-Sundays, July 23-October 5, 2025 from 7-11pm.
Where: Four Mile Historic Park, 715 S. Forest Street, Denver.
Cost: $19-$48 with varying levels for age, member discount. Tickets increase by $2 when purchased onsite at the Box Office.
Pets: Only ADA-defined service dogs are permitted at Four Mile Historic Park. All other pets, emotional support, therapy, or companion animals are not allowed. Animals are prohibited in order to preserve and protect the ecosystem and resident animals of the Park.
Food: Purchase food and drink from Big Belly Brother’s BBQ nightly, from Kona Ice of Hampden on Fridays and Saturdays and The Aguilar Four for churros on Fridays and Saturdays. Take advantage of the Bites & Delights Bundle combo meals with brisket or pulled pork sandwich, chicken tenders, cheeseburger or Impossible burger and all-beef hotdog plus waffle fries, mac & cheese, baked beans or potato salad. The combos come with a Pepsi drink and glow toy.
Visit the website for more details including parking information and what you can and cannot bring in.
Bright Nights provides the magic of those wintery shows during Denver’s glorious summer evenings. It takes a good long time to go through (we were there about two hours) so take that time and enjoy it all. There’s so much to see. No parkas or shivering required.
-Story and photos by Courtney Drake-McDonough, publisher and managing editor of InGoodTasteDenver.com.
Please note: As members of the media, we were offered comped tickets to opening night to facilitate us being able to write about Bright Nights. But, as is always our policy, that doesn’t influence our opinions which are honest and true and for the benefit of our readers.
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