Lighting at the Lake Brings John Driskell Hopkins Back to The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds the Night Before Thanksgiving

The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee will turn on its holiday lights on Wednesday, November 25, 2026, at 6 p.m. John Driskell Hopkins and his band are this year's headliners, and Santa will cue "hundreds of thousands of lights" across the resort, according to the Ritz-Carlton's holiday events page. Hopkins is a founding member, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist of the Grammy-winning Zac Brown Band. He has played this lakefront before. The Atlanta Pops Orchestra's concert archive lists him at Lighting at the Lake on Wednesday, November 21, 2018.

His return is the headline. For anyone at Reynolds hosting Thanksgiving, though, the bigger point is how much of this evening changes from year to year while its place on the calendar stays put.

One Fixed Night, Three Moving Parts

Lighting at the Lake always lands on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, the night many families arrive for the long weekend. The act, the guest list and the fine print around it change every season. Here is what the public listings show:

The music runs from a Zac Brown Band founder to a holiday act to a regional band and back. The access rules have shifted further than the lineup has, and they matter most when you're hosting.

The Guest List Is the Part to Confirm

A Marriott event listing for Lighting at the Lake, featuring Dave's Highway, said the evening was "open to overnight resort guests and Reynolds Members." Last year was different. Lake Oconee Life's calendar entry for 2025 described the Mistletoe Market and lighting as "Open to the public. Reservations not required."

The 2026 description on the Ritz page covers the music, Santa, the lights and the market hours. It doesn't say who can attend or whether there's a charge. Reynolds Members were on the guest list both years on record. If your Thanksgiving table includes in-laws who aren't members and aren't staying at the resort, confirm this year's policy with the Ritz before you build Wednesday night around it. Whether the lighting is open to the public changes how the evening goes for your whole group.

The Rink Keeps Its Own Calendar

The lighting is a single night. The Winter Forest, which shares the evening, runs for weeks. The Ritz says the rink opens Wednesday, November 25, at 4 p.m., two hours before the lights come on. After that it's open daily from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4 to 8 p.m. The ice covers 5,000 square feet and looks out over Lake Oconee. Next to it, the Ice Lounge has plush sofas, twinkle lights, hot cocoa, apple cider, hot toddies and seasonal cocktails.

Pricing for 2026 hasn't been posted. For a baseline, Lake Oconee Life's listing for the 2024–25 season gave these rates:

• Reynolds Members: $20 per adult and $10 per child
• Non-member children: $25 each
• Hotel guests: complimentary

At 2024–25 rates, a member family of four with two children paid $60 to skate. Grandchildren visiting from outside the community, and not staying at the hotel, paid $25 each. Treat these as 2024–25 figures until the Ritz posts 2026 rates.

The season's end has been just as consistent as its start. The 2023–24 rink ran from November 22, 2023, to January 1, 2024. The 2024–25 season closed Sunday, January 5, 2025, and Visit Lake Oconee listed last season running through January 4, 2026. Each year the rink has opened with the lighting and closed around the first weekend of January. The Ritz hasn't announced a 2026–27 closing date yet, so check before promising skating to New Year's visitors.

How the Season Runs From the Lighting Onward

The rest of the resort's holiday schedule starts from the Wednesday lighting.

1. Wednesday, Nov. 25, 4 p.m. The Mistletoe Market opens with local vendors and runs until 8 p.m. The Winter Forest opens at the same hour. Last year's market included Burned Brims, Lake Oconee Creations and Little Light Co. The 2026 vendor list hasn't been published.
2. Wednesday, Nov. 25, 6 p.m. John Driskell Hopkins and his band play country hits and Christmas classics until Santa arrives to light the resort. Photos with Santa and skating follow.
3. Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving Brunch is served in The Ritz-Carlton Ballroom, and reservations are required. The menu lists citrus-brined, fennel seed-rubbed heritage turkey, bourbon-peach glazed ham, an omelet station, a chilled seafood display, local cheese and charcuterie, and cranberry-pear frangipane tartlets.
4. Through December. Breakfast with Santa, Elf Tuck-Ins, and a Gingerbread Workshop with Mrs. Claus that starts from a pre-built house and comes with a box to carry it home. All three require reservations.
5. Christmas. Linger Longer Steakhouse, Amore del Lago and Gaby's by the Lake each serve special holiday menus. Linger Longer and Amore del Lago take reservations. Gaby's by the Lake is walk-in only, which helps if your plans come together late.
6. Friday, Jan. 1, 2027. The annual New Year's Day Polar Plunge goes off the dock into Lake Oconee, with coffee, hot chocolate and costume prizes afterward.

Booking links for each of these are on the Ritz-Carlton holiday page. That page is also where 2026 access and rink details will appear once they're posted.

The Lake Country Calendar Around It

The Ritz isn't the only lighting nearby. Downtown Greensboro's Holiday Open House comes first, on November 13–14, with holiday shopping, sales, live art demonstrations and refreshments. Friday hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., according to Lake Oconee Life's events calendar. In Eatonton, the Great Tree lighting is Thursday, December 3, from 5 to 8 p.m. The tree lights at 6 p.m., and the evening includes free horse-drawn carriage rides, per Visit Eatonton. Christmas in Eatonton follows on Saturday, December 12, from 4 to 8 p.m. Food trucks and arts-and-crafts vendors set up on the Courthouse Lawn, and the parade starts at 6 p.m.

If you have family coming for both Thanksgiving and Christmas, that gives you a lighting at the Ritz the night before Thanksgiving, a tree lighting in Eatonton the first week of December, and a parade the following Saturday.

Holiday visits often lead to questions about Reynolds that a resort calendar can't answer: which neighborhoods are a short golf cart ride from the Ritz lights, or what it would take to host Thanksgiving in a home of your own on this water. As a member of the club community here, Leslie Clark can help with those questions. Schedule your free consultation.