Light Up Lockwood

A free holiday event in Richardson's Lockwood neighborhood, produced annually for the community.

Light Up Lockwood is a straightforward event with a clear purpose: give a Richardson neighborhood a reason to come together in the fall, light it up, and make it feel like something. The City of Richardson Parks & Recreation Department produces some of the most consistently well-regarded municipal events in the region, and that reputation is built on events like this one — small in budget relative to larger productions, but high in community value. In 2024, Light Up Lockwood merged with Culture in the Core, expanding the programming footprint and bringing two neighborhood events together under one production. ESW handles full operations, working closely with the City's Parks team to make sure the event reflects well on the neighborhood and the city.

Light Up Lockwood is produced by the City of Richardson Parks & Recreation Department as part of its annual community events calendar. It is held in Richardson's Lockwood neighborhood — one of five neighborhoods within The CORE District, the city's redeveloped historic central area. The event is free and open to the public, featuring holiday lighting, seasonal activities, and family programming. In 2024, Light Up Lockwood merged with Culture in the Core, combining two community events into a single expanded production. ESW manages full event operations, coordinating vendors, site setup, and programming logistics on behalf of the City.

Richardson's Lockwood neighborhood sits within The CORE District — a redevelopment district established through the city's 2009 comprehensive plan and formalized through rezoning in 2015 and 2016. The CORE encompasses five distinct neighborhoods: Downtown, Heights, Interurban, Lockwood, and Chinatown. Light Up Lockwood was developed as part of the City of Richardson Parks & Recreation Department's broader community events program, which also includes Santa's Village at Huffhines Park and the Richardson Christmas Parade. In 2024, the event was combined with Culture in the Core, reflecting the City's continued investment in programming that activates The CORE District across seasons. Richardson's Parks & Recreation events are consistently recognized among the most active and well-produced municipal programming in the Dallas metro.

Full event production for the City of Richardson's annual Lockwood holiday event.

Light Up Lockwood is a community-scale event — not a large participant race or multi-day march, but a neighborhood gathering that requires the same attention to logistics as any outdoor public event. ESW coordinates directly with the City of Richardson Parks & Recreation team on site layout, vendor placement, activity programming, and teardown. In 2024, the event merged with Culture in the Core, creating a broader combined community event with an expanded footprint across The CORE District.