The tower at the eastern tip of Long Island gets its holiday lights on Saturday, November 28. The Montauk Historical Society, which runs the Montauk Point Lighthouse, has scheduled its annual Lighting the Lighthouse for that evening from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., and it is free to attend.

The plan for the night is simple. The gathering starts around dusk with live holiday music from Sarah Conway and the Playful Souls, a singalong set that leads up to the moment the lights on the tower are switched on. Hampton Coffee is donating hot chocolate. There is no charge, and the society welcomes donations.

Santa at the Lighthouse on Sunday

The next day, Sunday, November 29, the society holds Santa at the Lighthouse from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Families can meet Santa Claus and have a picture taken with him on the lighthouse grounds. Hampton Coffee again supplies hot chocolate, and the Montauk Bake Shoppe is donating cookies. That event is also free, with donations welcome.

A sold-out warm-up the week before

The society's other November program shows how quickly its smaller events fill. On Saturday, November 21, it is running a Bayberry Candle-Making workshop at the Second House Museum, 12 Second House Road in Montauk, as part of its America 250 programming. The workshop recreates a colonial gift tradition: bayberries were boiled to free their wax, which was strained, blended with beeswax and dipped or molded into candles meant to be burned on Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve. The society sourced everything for the candles in Montauk except the wicks. It has room for eight people at $50 each, and the ticket page lists it as sold out, with a sign-up for notice if a seat opens.

About the lighthouse

The Montauk Point Lighthouse was authorized in 1792 under President George Washington and finished in 1796, making it the first lighthouse in New York State. It still stands on the bluff at the end of Montauk Highway, and the Montauk Historical Society operates it as a museum, with exhibits in the keeper's house and a climb to the top of the tower in season.

How to go

  • Lighting the Lighthouse: Saturday, November 28, 2026, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. The lights go on at dusk. Free; donations accepted.
  • Santa at the Lighthouse: Sunday, November 29, 2026, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free; donations accepted.
  • Where: Montauk Point Lighthouse, 2000 Montauk Highway, Montauk. The lighthouse phone is 631-668-2544.
  • Bayberry Candle-Making: Saturday, November 21, 1 to 3:30 p.m., Second House Museum. Sold out; the event page takes names for openings.

The Montauk Historical Society posts any schedule change on its events page.

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