Ad
Ready for River of Lights? Find out more about this year's event.
Published
Modified
There’s a shark in the water this year at the New Mexico BioPark Society’s 28th annual River of Lights, with an illuminated hammerhead joining the sculptural displays.
River of Lights is also predicting calm waters Monday, Dec. 1, and Jan. 2, 2026, bringing back its “low sensory nights.”
“We reduce the capacity that we typically allow on a general admission evening, we turn down the music to like a low roar,” Chelsea Martinez, events manager, said. “We turn off all the flashing sculptures, the light tunnels, off anything that you know could kind of trigger someone or over-sensitize someone.”
The event’s low-sensory nights began last year and Martinez said the BioPark received great feedback from the community.
In February, the ABQ BioPark became a Certified Autism Center and wanted to keep the special nights going.
“Families of those who need a low sensory night were very thankful that they were finally able to bring their loved ones to come and experience it,” Martinez said.
“We even had some couples that just wanted a quieter walk through the garden,” she said, “and so it really didn’t mean much to them that some of the sculptures may not be on, or the music may be too low.”
The low sensory nights will have 800 tickets available per time slot, and the general admission and value nights will have 1,600 tickets.
Martinez said River of Lights has given people the chance to explore the gardens off-season and at night, while also being a great fundraiser for the BioPark. This year, the event is adding more music, along with scents that will offer a more immersive experience.
“The past few years, we’ve changed the way that the music is played throughout River of Lights,” Martinez said.
Ad
Last year, River of Lights emphasized music in the desert conservatory area and mariachi music in the New Mexico scene, Martinez said.
Martinez said that River of Lights started with seven rented sculptures. Now there are over 700 shining sculptures, including “One Ton,” the popular brontosaurus. In 2023 River of Lights was featured on ABC’s “The Great Christmas Light Fight” in a special “Heavyweights” episode.
Community feedback has played a role in the displays.
“We received a letter from a little girl that said, ‘You guys have otters at the aquarium. You should have an otter family sculpture,’” Martinez said. “And Joey took that, and it touched him, so it touched him so much in the heart that he did it. He created an otter family.”
Joey Trujillo is one of a team of three welders and artists behind the sculptures, Martinez said. She said that Trujillo has a case full of toys he uses to create the light decorations.
“He’ll take that toy and he’ll turn it around, turn it upside down, pick a spot and he’ll just start, ‘I’m gonna weld the porthole for the pirate ship, and it’s gonna look like this,’” Martinez said. “And he just goes for it.”
Martinez said her favorite sculpture is the pirate ship, but the communities’ favorites range from the Japanese garden to “One Ton” and beyond.
“What keeps bringing people back year after year is it’s a New Mexican tradition,” Martinez said.
