Detroit, MI
Detroit Zoo’s Wild Lights holiday display ranked in USA Today’s 10 Best Zoo Lights
Detroit Zoo Wild Lights 2024
Wild Lights runs through Jan. 5 at the Detroit Zoo and includes over 5 million LED lights in festive design arrangements.
One of metro Detroit’s most beloved holiday season attractions is now nationally famous.
On Friday, the Detroit Zoo’s Wild Lights was ranked by the voting public as #9 on USA Today’s list of America’s 10 Best Zoo Lights.
“We just found out this week,” said Zoo senior director of guest experience Emily O’Hara, “and we were thrilled to know that, while our metro Detroit audience knows Wild Lights and has loved it for over a decade now, we’re seeing it on the national stage now.”
Wild Lights includes over 5 million LED lights in festive design arrangements perfect for visitors of any age looking to get in the seasonal spirit. Between 120,000 and 140,000 holiday revelers tour through the exhibition annually, and to date this year, more than 20,000 have already enjoyed the festivities.
The entire undertaking is handled by a team of just 13 Zoo staff.
“We usually start the last week of July, and we install until opening, which is the week before Thanksgiving,” said O’Hara. “We start uninstalling the day after we close in January, and we’re usually uninstalling into the beginning of April.
Along with the return of Santa Claus for photo ops, this year adds new elements such as glow swings and a glow teeter-totters in the glow play area. Also, an enchanted trail with an interactive sound and light wall is new this year.
“We try to add more and more interactive components each year,” O’Hara said, “because we really see guests gravitating to those area. In addition, we have tons of photo ops, like a giant teddy bear. We have a holiday train. We also have a plan that you can climb into and get your photo taken, alongside all of our animal sculptures; being the Detroit Zoo, we really want to emphasize connecting guests to animals as they’re thinking about their holiday season, as well.
“And the footprint for Wild Lights changes every year, so even if you’ve visited Wild Lights in the past, it’s going to be a new experience this year. We encourage past visitors to come back.”
For those hesitant about venturing out into the cold, O’Hara offered reassurance.
“I know folks are coming across winter as a surprise,” she said. “The cold settling into our bones – we’re never ready for it after summer warmth, but I do want to reassure folks that as they’re coming through Wild Lights, we have warming stations. We have the lodge, which is a cool place to hang out, with live music and hot chocolate. Also, in our Ford Education Center, you can see a showing of ‘Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer’ in 4D, and we have an art exhibition going on in there where you can thaw out and look at photography mostly from Africa.”
Most of all, O’Hara said, the Zoo is grateful to its fans who boosted it into USA Today’s top ten.
“We want to say thank you,” she said. “We really pride ourselves on our relationship with the community and what we’re able to bring to this region, and we are so thankful that the community has rallied around us to show that again on the national stage. Detroit is here, and we have amazing, wonderful things to offer. We’re so excited to be a part of this area.”
Wild Lights runs through Jan. 5 at the Detroit Zoo, 8450 W. Ten Mile Rd., Royal Oak. Tickets and information are available at detroitzoo.org/wild-lights. General admission packages range from $17 to $25, based on the time and day of visit. Guests can take their visit to the next level by purchasing additional ticket packages, including the Picnic Package, which includes an endless food buffet and exclusive access to Table 28.
Contact Free Press arts and culture reporter Duante Beddingfield at dbeddingfield@freepress.com.
2 injured at Great Lakes Crossing shooting
Two injured in shooting at Great Lakes Crossing; suspect in custody. Authorities ask public to avoid the area.
Three people are dead and at least two others wounded after shootings broke out at Metro Detroit shopping malls just eight days apart.
The shootings all involved young adults, ages 19-22, who carried weapons, at least one lawfully.
At Great Lakes Crossing Outlets in Auburn Hills on Saturday, a Pontiac man was killed and a woman injured in the food court after an altercation that occurred in a bathroom rekindled in the food court.
In Dearborn, Cameron Watkins and Keonte Seaborn, both 19 and of Detroit, were killed on July 3 at Fairlane Town Center after a July 3 altercation involving three others.
Keianna Hundley, Keonte’s mother, decried the violence that took her son just two years after he graduated from high school.
“Seeing him walk across the stage with a big smile meant everything to me,” Hundley said. “I don’t wish the pain I feel on any parent.”
Great Lakes Crossing mall shooting Saturday
Auburn Hills police said they were patrolling Great Lakes Crossing Outlets at about 5:20 p.m. when they received reports of shots fired in the food court.
A 22-year-old Detroit man and a 20-year-old Pontiac man had an altercation inside the food court restroom at Great Lakes Crossing Outlets earlier. After 5 p.m. Saturday, the Pontiac man, then with another individual, saw and attacked the Detroit man, who had a license to carry a concealed weapon.
The Detroit man fired on the Pontiac man, killing him and wounding a 19-year-old woman who was not identified, according to Auburn Hills police. The Detroit man was taken into custody and was cooperating with authorities but has not been identified by police.
The shooting sent shoppers scurrying for the exits and the mall was closed for the remainder of the day.
Fairlane shopping mall shooting July 3
Police update on fatal shooting at Fairlane Mall in Dearborn
Police update on fatal shooting at Fairlane Mall in Dearborn on Friday afternoon, July 3, 2026.
Early in the afternoon of July 3, several young adults were involved in an altercation at the mall.
Prosecutors determined that Watkins and Seaborn both produced weapons.
Watkins shot Seaborn with the weapon he took from the purse of another person linked to the shooting, Cania Cain, and then continued to “shoot recklessly in the public mall,” officials said. A fourth person, Martinez Long, 19, then shot Watkins, prosecutors allege. Long was arraigned Tuesday in Dearborn’s 19th District Court on one count of carrying a concealed weapon.
Watkins’ death was determined to be a shooting in self defense and no charges were authorized for the homicide
The chaos sent shoppers running for the exits, and one person was struck by a vehicle during the scramble to flee, Police Chief Issa Shahin said.
“Senseless gun violence continues to plague communities across the country,” Shahin said earlier this week. “We are saddened by this entirely preventable tragedy but have to reiterate: We will expend all resources to keep our city safe and hold individuals responsible for dangerous behavior.”
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DETROIT (AP) — Cristopher Sánchez struck out seven in seven innings, Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto doubled and the Philadelphia Phillies ended the Detroit Tigers’ six-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory Saturday night.
The Phillies are 45-25 since snapping a 10-game losing streak April 25 and have the second-highest winning percentage in that span.
Sánchez (11-4) allowed two runs on 10 hits, bouncing back from a career-worst outing against Kansas City. Jonathan Bowlan threw a hitless eighth, and Jhoan Duran had a 1-2-3 ninth for his 24th save.
Trea Turner’s sacrifice fly got the Phillies on the board in the third inning. Derek Hill prevented Zach McKinstry from driving in the tying run with a spectacular diving catch.
Realmuto had a two-run double in the fourth to extend the lead.
The Tigers got one back on Eduardo Valencia’s solo homer in the fifth.
Casey Mize (4-6) worked 5 2/3 innings for Detroit.
Up next
Phillies RHP Zack Wheeler (9-1, 2.28 ERA) was set to face Tigers LHP Tarik Skubal (5-4, 3.06) on Sunday.
A woman died, and a person is in custody, in the aftermath of a two-vehicle crash on Friday evening in Detroit.
An emergency call was placed at 7:39 p.m., reporting the crash at Collingwood and Belleterre streets. The Detroit Police Department said one of the drivers was traveling at a high rate of speed on Collingwood and disregarded a stop sign at the intersection, striking the other vehicle.
The crash killed a woman who is in her 40s and injured a man who is also in his 40s. A medical condition was not available for the injured man.
The Detroit Police Department said a suspect is in custody and they are continuing to investigate.
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