Downtown Patchogue will once again glow after dark next month as MoCA L.I.ghts, Long Island's only light projection festival, returns for its seventh year. Presented by the Patchogue Arts Council, the free five-day event runs Thursday, Oct. 22 through Monday, Oct. 26, each night from 6 to 11 p.m.

What started in 2020 as a way for the public to safely engage with art and community during the COVID-19 pandemic has grown into a full-scale, open-air museum. Projected artworks, animations, and site-specific media pieces will transform building facades and pop-up galleries across downtown, free and open to visitors of all ages, whether they explore by car, on foot, or online.

This year's festival, themed "Antiquity to Innovation," ties into the 250th anniversary of American independence, spotlighting the technologies carrying artists into a new era while honoring the history behind them. The lineup features visual art, live music, and performance pieces from more than 200 local, national, and international artists at all career stages, alongside on-site educational experiences and virtual workshops for anyone who wants to try the art forms themselves.

New this year is "What's Glowing On In The Cemetery?", a narrative projection installation at Lakeview Cemeteries that brings local history to life after dark. Organizers are also adding a free trolley that will make stops at every installation site throughout the evening, making it easier for visitors to see the full festival. The 2026 edition also brings back an opening-night outdoor opera and dance performance, along with new live performances and a bar crawl fundraiser.

The festival's cultural partners include the Greater Patchogue Chamber of Commerce, the Village of Patchogue, Patchogue BID, the Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts, the Patchogue-Medford Library, Plaza Cinema, Cornell Cooperative Extension Suffolk County's Marine Department, the Long Island Arts Alliance, MTA Art & Design, Friends of Lakeview Cemeteries, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, and Patchogue United Methodist Church, with funding support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, Suffolk County Cultural Affairs, Discover Long Island, and other local sponsors.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available. For more information, contact Patchogue Arts Council Executive Director Beth Giacummo at bethgiacummo@patchoguearts.org or (631) 627-8686.

The Patchogue Arts Council is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to educate, support, and elevate the arts community across Long Island, supporting artists at every career stage and new public art projects that help revitalize and sustain the community.