The 12th Annual Boro in Lights was on Friday, December 5, 2025, from 6 to 9 p.m. The 13th has the same three-hour window on Friday, December 4, 2026, and the same address, 1 High St. W. The street around it has changed, though. Since that last Friday in early December, a burger restaurant opened at 111 High St. E. and an Indian restaurant moved in at 22 High Street East. The Heritage Glass Museum at 25 High Street East has a free exhibition running two weeks past the event.
The Borough's event is three hours long. High Street East now has enough open storefronts to fill the time before and after it.
The Night the Borough Has Planned
The Borough of Glassboro calls Boro in Lights a free event in the heart of Downtown Glassboro. It promises a display of lights, music, food trucks, selfie stations and family-friendly holiday activities for all ages. The Borough's events page says vendor and food truck spaces for the 2026 event season are full. That means the curbside food is already set.
Parking is complimentary in the borough's lots, on the street and in the Nexus garages, according to the Borough's events page. The Borough has also posted a 2026 event parking map. It's worth printing before the night.
Past editions spread past a single block. The Borough's 2024 announcement listed a 6:15 p.m. tree lighting with Santa and Mrs. Claus, a holiday market, a live Nativity and petting zoo, cookie decorating, a historical society train display, and carriage rides on Rowan Boulevard. That was the 2024 lineup. For 2026, the Borough's own page is the place to check for this year's program.
In 2024, the event used High Street and Rowan Boulevard together. Both corridors have had new openings since last December.
Four Addresses on High Street East
The biggest changes are on High Street East, in the 20s and the low 100s.
| Address | What's there | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 22 High Street East | Krish's Indian Bistro | Moved from Sewell; dine-in, takeout, online ordering and catering |
| 24 High Street | Former Ry & Howie's space | Reported in September as the location for Clean Plate Meal Prep |
| 25 High Street East | Heritage Glass Museum | Free exhibition through December 19; open house November 21 |
| 111 High St. E. | Gouldsburger | Grand opening October 23 |
Three of these four addresses fall between 22 and 25. A museum and two restaurant spaces now sit on one short run of High Street East, just across the street numbering from the event's 1 High St. W. address.
Gouldsburger at 111 High St. E.
Gouldsburger held its Glassboro grand opening on October 23. The Whit reported that the chain has 12 locations, most of them in New Jersey and three in Pennsylvania, and that its first location opened in Haddonfield in 2023. The menu covers burgers, cheesesteaks, hot dogs, salads and sides. You order at a kiosk, and the walls carry Philadelphia sports banners and American history icons.
Kiosk and phone ordering help on a busy event night. Council member Daniele Spence told The Whit at the ribbon cutting that "you can order stuff on your phone like you want to do." Co-founder Mike Murray told the same paper that the company has "one in UPenn that does very well, so Rowan seemed like a natural progression for us."
This blog wrote about the High Street corner that looked empty but already had a tenant lined up back in September. Gouldsburger now gives that stretch of High Street East an open restaurant.
Krish's Indian Bistro at 22 High Street East
Krish's Indian Bistro moved from Sewell into downtown Glassboro. South Jersey Food Scene reported the move on October 1. The restaurant offers dine-in, takeout and online ordering, plus catering for parties and other events. In its own announcement, the restaurant called the Glassboro location a "new chapter."
Krish's opened downtown in the fall, so December brings its first holiday catering season at the new address. Office parties and family gatherings book in the same weeks as Boro in Lights.
The Space at 24 High Street
In September, 42Freeway reported that Clean Plate Meal Prep was headed to 24 High Street, in the space Ry & Howie's used to occupy. That puts it two numbers up from Krish's.
The Museum at 25 High Street East Runs on Its Own Calendar
The Heritage Glass Museum at 25 High Street East doesn't take part in the Borough's event. Its December schedule still lines up with it.
The museum's free exhibition, "Reflections in Commemorative Glass: 250 Years of the American Spirit," opened July 11 and runs through Saturday, December 19, 2026. It tells the country's 250-year history through commemorative bottles and decanters. The pieces came from Wheaton Glass of Millville, Clevenger Brothers of Clayton and Anchor Hocking of Salem. All three companies are within a short drive of Glassboro. For out-of-town holiday guests, that makes it a local story you can show them in one stop.
Before the lights go up, the museum holds its 2026 Annual Friends' Open House and Members Meeting on Saturday, November 21, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Admission is free and refreshments will be served. The board will review the current exhibit on Paul Stankard's art and share upcoming news about the museum. Parking is behind the building.
The exhibition closes 15 days after Boro in Lights. Someone who sees the display windows on December 4 still has two more weekends to come back for the commemorative glass.
Rowan Boulevard Changed Too
The 2024 program put carriage rides on Rowan Boulevard. That corridor has also changed since last December.
- Cheessteaks, 320 Rowan Blvd. It replaced Greens & Grains at that address, per South Jersey Food Scene, and The Whit reported a September 12 grand opening.
- Poppy & Pine, Rowan Boulevard. The restaurant opened May 1. Since then it has added a bar serving mimosas and cocktails and kept upgrading its patio, with a railing installed in early August, per The Whit.
- The Hut, 709 N. Main St. It's a few blocks off the event's core. The Hut held its grand opening September 19 and serves toasted subs, cheesesteaks and kati rolls. The Whit reported that it stays open until 2 a.m. on weekends.
Boro in Lights falls on a Friday, so The Hut's weekend hours run well past the event's 9 p.m. end.
Add the High Street East openings, and both corridors the event has used have new places to eat. In early December 2025, none of them were in their current locations.
Glassboro's Late-Fall Dates in Order
Here are the dates from now through the museum's closing, in calendar order.
- Saturday, November 21, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Heritage Glass Museum Friends' Open House and Members Meeting, 25 High Street East. Free.
- Tuesday, December 1. Rowan University's WindFest concert, on a schedule Rowan marks as tentative, in Pfleeger Concert Hall, Wilson Hall, on the Glassboro campus. Rowan's College of the Arts welcomes members of the public as audience members. Details are on the WindFest page and the Rowan Arts box office.
- Friday, December 4, 6 to 9 p.m. The 13th Annual Boro in Lights, Downtown Glassboro, 1 High St. W. Free.
- Saturday, December 19. Last day of "Reflections in Commemorative Glass: 250 Years of the American Spirit" at the Heritage Glass Museum.
WindFest falls three days before the lights and is held on campus. It isn't billed as a holiday concert. The museum's closing date gives the High Street season an end point on the 19th.
Earlier this year, Rowan University put its name on the borough's longest-running street party, another sign of attention moving to the High Street blocks that feed into Rowan Boulevard.
New restaurants and a busier High Street East are the kind of local change that shows up in a home's value before it shows up in the listings. If you own in Glassboro and wonder how this year's downtown openings affect what your home could sell for, Jennifer Ferrara can give you a town-level answer with a clear timeline and selling options that fit your plans. Start with a free home valuation and see where your home stands before the new year.
