West Palm Beach's Holiday Season Starts Before the City's Does, Then Peaks in One December Weekend

The City of West Palm Beach has set its 2026 Holiday in Paradise for November 27 through December 31, under the theme "The Art of Holidays." The ice is already down at The Ben, though. Its outdoor rink on North Narcissus Avenue opened November 1 and stays open through January 3, 2027.

The private venues start their season ahead of the city. The Ben opens nearly four weeks early, and CityPlace, Mounts and the zoo open one to two weeks early. When the city's events arrive, the biggest ones land on Thursday, December 3 through Saturday, December 5. Those same three days also hold the opening of the Kravis Center's Nutcracker run, the Norton Museum's ArtBeat and the Palm Beach Holiday Boat Parade. Late November is the easy time to go. Early December is when you need a plan.

The season you can have to yourself in November

As of this Thursday, November 5, three things are open or about to open before the Great Lawn has a single holiday event.

The Ben's Winter Wonderland is back for a third year, and the hotel says the rink is larger than last year's. The prior season drew more than 30,000 skaters. Tickets are $30 for ages 12 and up and $15 for ages 4 to 11, with skate rental included. A rink that hosted 30,000 people last year will be busiest when downtown is busiest. That makes a weeknight in mid-November the uncrowded version of the same skate.

CityPlace starts next. Its holiday kickoff is Saturday, November 14, from 5 to 9 p.m. Ballet Palm Beach opens the night with a preview of The Nutcracker. The Sensational A Cappella Group and trombonist and singer Richie Nuzz follow, and Santa makes appearances. CityPlace calls this year's decorations Season of Glow. They are lit by Blachere Illumination, the firm behind lighting on the Champs-Élysées and at Hudson Yards and Harrods, around a Discovery Tree. Bissinger's chocolatier is running a holiday pop-up there. Two recurring CityPlace pieces start the same night and run through the season:

• Nightly snowfall, November 14 through December 31, at 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 p.m., weather permitting.
• Santa's Workshop, November 14 through December 24, Fridays and Saturdays from 6 to 8 p.m. and Sundays from 5 to 7 p.m. It is free and first-come, and no reservation is needed.

Two light shows follow within a week. ILUMINA at Mounts Botanical Garden runs on select nights from November 18 through January 17, 2027. Adult tickets start at $28, ages 5 to 17 are $10, and children under 5 get in free. Members get 25% off, and groups of 12 or more get 20% off. Zoo Lights at the Palm Beach Zoo opens November 20 and runs on selected evenings through January 3. This year it is laid out as three lit sections on one ticket: a traditional holiday area, a polar setting and a bioluminescent pathway. The zoo also schedules separate 21-and-over nights. Group tickets for 15 or more are $19.25 per adult and $15.25 per child. Individual times and prices appear at checkout for each date.

So by November 20, the rink, CityPlace's snowfall and Santa's Workshop, ILUMINA and Zoo Lights are all running. Sandi still isn't lit, and the city's first event is a week away. Out-of-town guests arriving the week before Thanksgiving can see nearly every ticketed attraction of the season with little competition for the calendar.

The city starts in Northwood, not on the waterfront

Holiday in Paradise opens away from Clematis Street. Nights in Northwood takes over Northwood Road between U.S. 1 and Broadway on Black Friday, November 27, from 6 to 9 p.m. More than 50 vendors will sell handmade goods, art, fashion and vintage finds, and the event is free, according to the Palm Beach Post's 2026–27 festival roundup. For anyone who has been following Northwood Village's slow growth, a Black Friday street market on the no-chains strip fits the district. On the city's Holiday in Paradise page, opening-night details and the full season schedule are still "coming together."

After Black Friday comes a quiet stretch from November 28 through December 2. Then the city's two biggest local events arrive back to back, and they stack up with everything else.

December 3 through 5, hour by hour

Here is how the three days line up. Every time comes from the organizer or the Post.

Thursday, December 3

Sandi, the 700-ton sand tree, is lit for the first time at Clematis by Night. The event runs from 6 to 10 p.m. on the Great Lawn at 100 N. Clematis Street, and it is free. The city's event listing names Phoenix5 and Officers & Gentlemen with the Rhythm Chicks as the music. The Post adds Sandi's synchronized music-and-light shows and live painting by artist Laura Serna. Of the three days, Thursday has the least competition. The Kravis and the Norton both have their events later in the weekend.

Friday, December 4

Two free events and one ticketed show overlap. The 10th annual Winter in Paradise fills Heart & Soul Park at 825 N. Rosemary Ave. from 5 to 9 p.m. This year's theme is Rhythm on Rosemary, with the ReaXtion Band, DJ Scoobz, games, family activities and free hamburgers and hot dogs from West Palm Beach Fire Rescue while supplies last, the Post reports. At 7 p.m., Ballet Palm Beach opens The Nutcracker at the Kravis Center. CityPlace's snowfall and Santa's Workshop are running the same evening.

Saturday, December 5

This is the crowded day.

1. 2 p.m. The Nutcracker matinee at the Kravis. It is the only performance that day that doesn't overlap an evening event.
2. 6 p.m. The 32nd annual Palm Beach Holiday Boat Parade starts in North Palm Beach behind a Zambelli traveling fireworks display. It travels north on the Intracoastal and reaches the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse around 8 p.m., rain or shine.
3. 7 p.m. The evening Nutcracker curtain at the Kravis, and the doors to ArtBeat 2026 at the Norton Museum, which runs until 10 p.m. ArtBeat tickets are $150 for Young Friends, $250 for general admission and $400 for VIP.

The boat parade runs north of the city, so West Palm Beach households need to drive up the coast to watch it. Choosing the parade rules out the 7 p.m. Nutcracker and most of ArtBeat. Families who want both the ballet and the boats should take the 2 p.m. matinee. Viewers who stay home can watch the parade live on the WPBF app and the station's Facebook page. Boaters who want to take part should register by November 19. Early registrants have the refundable $50 deposit waived and are entered to win $500 and VIP passes. Every registered boat is also entered in a $250 cash drawing. The parade benefits Toys for Tots and Little Smiles.

On Sunday, December 6, The Nutcracker closes with shows at 1 and 5 p.m.

The rest of December is spread out

After that weekend, the calendar loosens to about one event a week. Most are free.

The Aloha Islanders show is new to Clematis by Night this season. The Post describes the troupe, founded in 1999, as covering Hawaii, Tahiti, Samoa and New Zealand with drums, hula and Samoan fire knife dancers. The holiday edition adds a tropical Santa and a conch-blowing contest. The Ice Cream Social on December 27 brings a silent disco in Centennial Square, inflatables, a bubble artist and rides on Ferris the Ferris Wheel. Holiday in Paradise runs through December 31. Zoo Lights and The Ben's rink keep going until January 3, and ILUMINA runs until January 17.

For more on how downtown has filled in this year, see our fall 2026 downtown playbook and our West Palm Beach neighborhood guide.

Holiday visits often lead to questions about life here, and we'd rather answer them over the phone than leave them in a group chat. If a relative at the Great Lawn on December 3 starts asking what it would take to live closer to Sandi, give us a call. At On Call Realty, I answer my phone. Schedule a free consultation, and we'll talk through the West Palm Beach neighborhoods that fit.