New Yorkers barely have time to recover from pumpkin spice season before Bryant Park Winter Village arrives to officially declare that winter has entered the chat.
The Bank of America Winter Village at Bryant Park returns on October 28, 2026, kicking off its 25th season in Midtown and running through February 28, 2027. Yes, October. Because apparently waiting until Thanksgiving to start celebrating the holidays is now considered wildly inefficient.
The centerpiece is, as always, the 17,000-square-foot ice rink, where skating is free if you bring your own skates. Skate rentals are available for those of us whose skates are currently collecting dust in a closet—or never existed in the first place.
Then there are the Holiday Shops by Urbanspace, returning October 28 with more than 180 vendors selling everything from handmade gifts and jewelry to food, sweets and the sort of things you didn’t know you needed until you saw them in a tiny illuminated kiosk. The holiday market runs through January 3.
And naturally, there will be plenty to eat and drink.
The Lodge returns as the rinkside après-skate hangout, serving festive cocktails, hot drinks and food while giving visitors a front-row view of everyone attempting to skate like they’re in The Nutcracker—and discovering they’re actually in Home Alone.
For anyone planning things to do in NYC this fall and winter, Bryant Park Winter Village is practically mandatory. It’s shopping, skating, food and holiday atmosphere conveniently packed into one Midtown square.
The only problem?
Winter Village opens October 28.
Halloween is October 31.
New York has officially entered the era of Christmas before the candy has even been collected.
