On Friday, Nov. 20, the lights go on in Centennial Commons, the Giant Oak Tree is lit, and The Rink at Royal Oak opens for the season. Then the formal holiday festival waits two more weeks before it starts.
The gap comes from a schedule change. The 2026 Royal Oak Holidays is three weekends in December, Dec. 4 through Dec. 20. The rink opens Nov. 20 and stays open until Feb. 16, 2027. Downtown's festival now fills nine days. The ice is open for about twelve and a half weeks, and for most of that time it's the main winter attraction downtown. If you're planning a Royal Oak winter, plan around the rink and fit the festival in.
Three years, three calendars
Not long ago, downtown Royal Oak had two separate winter events. The holiday program ran in late fall, and Winter Blast was a three-day event in early February. An April 28, 2025 memo to the Royal Oak City Commission ended Winter Blast and explained why:
"due to unpredictable winter weather and fluctuating attendance, this event will be discontinued."
The same memo moved Winter Blast's best-known pieces into the holiday schedule. That included the zip line, music in heated tents, an ice sculpture weekend, a free skating weekend and outdoor rides, and it stretched the holiday program to five weeks. That's how 2025 ran. According to the Oakland County Times preview, Royal Oak Holidays, presented by Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, ran Nov. 21 through Dec. 21, 2025. The tree lighting and rink opening came on the first weekend, and the festival's events filled every weekend after that until Christmas week.
For 2026, the Royal Oak Holidays site advertises "3 consecutive weekends of free holiday fun." Neither the organizers nor the city has published a reason for the shorter run. Two winter traditions have now become one shorter event in under two years.
The rink's dates didn't shrink. The 2025 memo described its "normal 12.5 week run through mid-February." It also noted that Jonathan Witz & Associates has operated the rink since the 2022–2023 season and that the rink "once had 25,000 skaters." The 2026–27 agreement between the city and the same company again runs the rink into mid-February, with a $150,000 contribution from the Downtown Development Authority. The agreement sets the start date as Nov. 19, 2026. The rink's own site and the Royal Oak Holidays site both give Nov. 20, so this post uses the advertised public opening.
The two weeks before the first market
Nov. 20 to Dec. 4 is the stretch where this year's calendar differs most from last year's. In 2025 those weeks belonged to the festival. In 2026 the rink and the lights are open, and the festival hasn't started yet. Several events are scheduled around those two weeks:
- Nov. 19–20: The Guild's Royal Oak Market: Art Fair Edition comes indoors at 316 E. 11 Mile Road, with 60 juried artists, live entertainment, food and adult beverages.
- Friday, Nov. 20, 4–9 p.m.: The Lighting of the Park in Centennial Commons, with skating, Santa, food trucks, live music, the Beacon of Light Awards and the lighting of the Giant Oak Tree. The organizer says the full schedule is still to come.
- Nov. 21–22 and Nov. 27–29: Detroit Zoo Wild Lights opens on these nights. This season adds a 21+ Igloo lounge, newly lit eastern Erb Discovery Trails, a butterfly art experience, VR and new animal light sculptures.
The art fair's second day falls on the same Friday as the park lighting, both within a few blocks on 11 Mile and around Centennial Commons, so the two fit into one afternoon and evening downtown.
None of the pages we reviewed list any programming at the rink or in the park between the kickoff and Dec. 4. On those weekdays and weekends, the rink is open at its regular prices, and the hours depend on weather. That makes the last week of November the quietest time on the ice before the festival starts.
What each December weekend holds
Each of the three weekends has its own lineup. Pick the one that matches what you want to do.
| Weekend | Headline events | Also on the schedule |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 4–6 | Life-size Hungry Hungry Hippos on the ice, with teams of four on tubes grabbing balls for two minutes | Cookie Crawl on Saturday, Dec. 5, noon–4 p.m., with 18 locally sourced, handcrafted cookies |
| Dec. 11–13 | Free skating at The Rink all weekend | Bottomless Toy Chest toy drive at the Holiday Lodge, for donated toys worth $10 or more |
| Dec. 18–20 | More than 50 ice sculptures in Centennial Commons and around downtown | Guns & Hoses Broomball on Dec. 18 between the Royal Oak Police and Fire Departments; the Grinch around town Dec. 19–20 |
Two items in that table used to belong to Winter Blast: the free skating weekend and the ice sculptures. In 2026 they fall on the middle and last December weekends. The free skating weekend is the only time this season the rink's usual admission is waived.
Some things run all three weekends:
- The Holiday Market: Fridays 4–9 p.m., Saturdays noon–9 p.m., Sundays noon–8 p.m. The 2026 vendor list is still marked "coming soon."
- The Holiday Lodge, sponsored by LaFontaine Infiniti Troy, has live music, cocktails, seating and games. It's open an hour later than the market on Fridays and Saturdays: Fridays 4–10 p.m., Saturdays noon–10 p.m., Sundays noon–8 p.m.
- Visits with Santa, sponsored by Polestar Detroit: Fridays 5–7 p.m. and weekends noon–4 p.m., at various downtown locations. The exact schedule hasn't been posted.
- Horse and wagon rides: 5–9 p.m. on Dec. 5, Dec. 11–12 and Dec. 18–19, picking up and dropping off on Troy Street across from City Hall. There are no rides on the opening Friday, Dec. 4.
Prices for the Cookie Crawl, Lodge and wagon rides weren't posted as of early October. Cookie Crawl check-in is 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Dec. 5.
Dec. 4–6 is the busiest weekend in town. It's the festival's opening weekend, and it's also the first December weekend of Wild Lights at the Detroit Zoo.
Fifty-eight days after Dec. 20
The ice sculptures weekend ends the festival on Sunday, Dec. 20. The rink then stays open for 58 more days, until Feb. 16, 2027, weather permitting. That's most of the downtown winter, and none of it has scheduled festival programming. February used to have Winter Blast. In 2027 it has open skating in Centennial Commons and nothing else on the calendar.
The Detroit Zoo fills part of the week after Christmas. Wild Lights runs nightly Dec. 26–31, and its last two nights are Jan. 2–3. After that, through mid-February, the rink is the only one of these winter attractions still open.
Details for the rink season, from The Rink at Royal Oak's FAQ:
- Where: Centennial Commons, 221 E. 3rd St., across from the Royal Oak Public Library entrance.
- Admission: $10 Monday–Friday before 5 p.m.; $12 weekdays after 5 p.m. and all day Saturday and Sunday.
- Skate rental: $5.
- Parking: The city's 11 Mile Road parking structure at 110 E. Eleven Mile Rd. is free for the first two hours, then $0.75 an hour. Entrances are on 2nd Street and 11 Mile Road.
Under that pricing, an adult who brings their own skates pays $2 less on a weekday afternoon than at any time on a weekend. Weekend skating with rentals costs $17. Hours change daily with the weather and ice maintenance, so check the rink hours page before you go, especially during January thaws.
Before the lights go on
Fall downtown has a few events left before the rink opens. Spooktacular is set for Sunday, Oct. 18, 2–5 p.m., at Fifth Street Plaza. The Royal Oak Farmers Market keeps its October schedule: Saturdays 7 a.m.–1 p.m., Farm Fresh Fridays 7 a.m.–1 p.m., and the Sunday Antiques & Collectibles Market 8 a.m.–3 p.m. After that, the next downtown dates are Nov. 19 for the art fair and Nov. 20 for the rink.
At Kim Nagy's Royal Oak team, Centennial Commons is part of our own neighborhood, and we track the city calendar as closely as the market. If you'd like to know what's happening downtown this winter, or what a home near the park and the 11 Mile Road garage looks like right now, contact us and we'll walk you through it.