Yountville's Lights Stayed On All Year. So What Does the November Tree Lighting Switch On?

At dusk this week, the small trees along Washington Street will light up the same way they have every evening since last November. The bulbs wrapped around the large oaks will too. So will the outlines of Town Hall and the Community Center, the wall in front of Bardessono on Yount Street, and the Hopper Creek bridge by the French Laundry Garden. At midnight they go dark. Ninety minutes before sunrise they come back on, and they shut off again once it's daylight.

For decades, lighting Washington Street was a holiday tradition that began on one evening in late November. On November 23, 2025, the Yountville Sun previewed that year's Town & Tree Lighting as the moment the town would be switched fully on. The lights stayed on after that night. On Sunday, November 22, 2026, Yountville will hold the ceremony again for a town that is already lit. The evening adds the holiday tree. The bigger decision about the lights came on October 20, at a Town Council meeting.

What went up in October 2025

According to the October 20, 2026 staff report from Parks & Recreation Director Samantha Holland, the Town signed an agreement with Stafford Lights in October 2025 to buy and install lighting on Town trees, buildings, walkways and bridges. The report lists the installation:

• Trees along Washington Street, at Town Hall and at Yountville Commons
• Permanent building lighting on Yountville Commons, Town Hall and the Community Center
• The walkway wall in front of Bardessono on Yount Street
• Two bridges, the Hopper Creek bridge at the French Laundry Garden and the one at Villagio Vineyard

The system was designed to stay up all year. The tree cabling is meant for year-round use, is designed to stretch as the trees grow, and was installed with the trees' health in mind. Staff can monitor the lights, change them and set seasonal timers from an app. Since the 2025 tree lighting, only the holiday "sparklers and balls" have been taken down. Everything else has stayed on.

The report says the system took a few months of regular maintenance and updates before it worked reliably across town. The contractor now comes monthly, and Town staff report problems as they come up.

The October 20 meeting

The original purchase came with one year of maintenance, running through the end of 2026. With that coverage about to run out, staff asked the Council three questions:

1. Should the Town stay lit 365 days a year, and if not, on what schedule?
2. If the trees go dark for part of the year, should the buildings, bridges and Yount Street wall stay lit year-round?
3. Should anything about the current installation change, given that power access limits where lights can go?

The Town's October 21 newsletter reported that the Council directed staff to keep displaying the lights as they had been throughout 2026. The newsletter also noted the Council's view that a decision about decorative lighting is still worth discussing in public, so the community can see how it gets made. It was also Heather Abrams's first week as Town Manager. Interim Town Manager John Ferons introduced her at the start of the same meeting.

The Yountville Sun's account of the meeting reported that the Council concluded most residents and visitors preferred the year-round display. The paper also reported that Councilmembers Robin McKee and Hillery Trippe raised concerns about how the lights could affect migrating birds. In the Napa Valley Register's coverage, Yountville Chamber President and CEO Natalie Leighton said visitors liked the lights' ambiance and their "Hallmark look."

The cost starts in 2027

The staff report estimates that keeping the lights as they are will cost about $25,000 to $30,000 a year under a new contract. That would cover replacement bulbs, annual maintenance and support for the tree-lighting event. The report describes the electricity cost as nominal because the lights are all LEDs and run only part of each day. The Sun reported staff saying the lights run off the town power grid and haven't noticeably raised electricity bills.

Electricity was also the subject of a written public comment sent before the meeting. A resident asked how much of the PG&E bill comes from lighting the trees year-round, and whether the $25,000 figure covers maintenance separately from power.

The maintenance cost has to be approved before it can be paid. Ongoing maintenance wasn't in the fiscal 2026–27 budget, so staff will run a procurement process and bring a budget adjustment back to the Council. The new contract would start in 2027, when the current agreement ends. For comparison, the same newsletter reported that the General Fund had collected about $2.12 million through September 30, which is 13 percent of its annual budget. Most property tax revenue doesn't start arriving until December. A $25,000 to $30,000 line item is small next to that, but the Council will still vote on it as its own item.

What November 22 adds

Since the trees, buildings and bridges are already lit, the ceremony now centers on the holiday tree and the evening itself. The only pieces the staff report lists as seasonal are the holiday sparklers and balls. The Town's listing for the 2026 Town & Tree Lighting at the Community Center, 6516 Washington Street, lays out the evening:

The listing still promises "1000's of holiday lights" and asks attendees to leave pets at home. This year's ceremony falls one day earlier on the calendar than last year's, though both are on a Sunday. The Chamber's 2026 holiday resource page asks businesses to light up for the event and to decorate their exteriors with white holiday lights. That way, the storefronts change for the season along with the tree, while the Town's permanent lights stay as they are.

The weeks after the lighting

The tree lighting opens a season that yountville.com runs through January 1, 2027, with more than 100 events listed. Many of the events most useful to residents are held in the same Town buildings the lights now outline, mainly the Community Center and Yountville Commons.

• Community Thanksgiving Dinner, Wednesday, November 25, 3 p.m., Community Center. Vice Mayor Pam Reeves and the Yountville Chamber are organizing it. It's free, reservations are requested, and the Town can arrange meal delivery and transportation for anyone who needs them.
• 12 Days of Yountville Cheer, November 28 through December 9. The Chamber's limited-time offers across wine, food, lodging, retail and experiences start on Small Business Saturday.
• Visits with Santa, Saturday, December 5, 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., Community Center. It's free, and donations go to the Parks and Recreation Leader in Training Program.
• Holiday Artisan Faire, December 5 and 6, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Community Center, with more than 40 fine artists.
• Holiday Bingo, Thursday, December 10, 1:30 p.m., Community Center. It's free, needs no registration, and is co-sponsored by Native Daughters of the Golden West.
• Holiday Sing-Along with Mary Spalding, Friday, December 11, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Community Center.
• Glow Pickleball, Friday, December 18, 6 to 8 p.m., on the Community Center's indoor courts, $25 per person.
• Fun Club Day, Saturday, December 19, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Yountville Commons, 6554 Yount Street. Kids get supervised activities while adults do their holiday shopping.
• Wreaths Across America, Saturday, December 19, 11 a.m., Yountville Veterans Home Cemetery. A $17 donation sponsors one wreath.
• Winter Camp Week 1, December 28 to 31, 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Yountville Commons, for ages 5 to 12.

The holiday calendar ends January 1, 2027. That is also when the current maintenance agreement is set to run out. How the lights run after that depends on the new contract and the budget adjustment staff still have to bring back to the Council.

I've been following how the Council handles the 2027 lighting contract, along with other changes like it that shape daily life in Yountville. If you're thinking about what town decisions like this mean for owning a home here, Avi Strugo is happy to talk it through over coffee on Washington Street, or after dark once the trees are lit.