Each holiday season, Tampa proves winter is a state of mind: Winter Village transforms Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park into a festive riverfront scene with an outdoor ice rink (yes, real skating, Florida-style), a holiday market of local shops, the Curtis Hixon Choo Choo for little riders and Santa’s cottage in the palms.
Families skate beneath the skyline, hunt gifts at the market’s Tampa-made stalls, and warm up with hot cocoa as the park’s lights reflect on the Hillsborough. The village anchors downtown’s holiday season alongside the Riverwalk’s lights and the boat parade.
Dates roll from late November into early January; rink sessions sell quickly on weekends.
Ice skating in a t-shirt, under palm trees, by a pirate river. Only Tampa.
