Walnut Creek's Holiday Season Comes Down to One Weekend on Civic Drive

When does the holiday season actually start in downtown Walnut Creek? In 2026, the date to circle is Friday, November 20, when Walnut Creek on Ice opens at Civic Park, and the city's free tree lighting runs that evening in the same park from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday, Smuin Contemporary Ballet brings The Christmas Ballet to the Lesher Center for the Arts, just up Civic Drive.

Nearly everything else on the November and December calendar falls before that weekend or after it. If you plan around November 20 to 22 first, the rest of the season is easy to fit in.

Three addresses on one street

Civic Drive holds most of the season. The rink is at Civic Park, 1365 Civic Drive. The tree lighting is listed at 1375 Civic Drive, in the same park. The Lesher Center for the Arts is farther along the same street at 1601 Civic Drive.

This year the tree lighting falls one day earlier on the calendar than last year. The 2025 ceremony was Friday, November 21. The 2026 ceremony is Friday, November 20. It also falls on the rink's opening day, and the event page points people from one to the other. The Walnut Creek Downtown tree lighting listing says the celebration continues "just steps away at Walnut Creek on Ice."

The City of Walnut Creek and the Walnut Creek Downtown Association present the tree lighting together. It's free and includes complimentary hot cocoa, live carolers and a meet-and-greet with Frosty the Snowman. The Downtown Association also runs the rink in partnership with the city.

The weekend at a glance

The rink's holiday hours start on Saturday, November 21, one day after it opens. On weekdays in the holiday periods, which run from November 21 to 30 and from December 19 to January 4, the ice is open 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. In non-holiday weeks, Monday through Thursday hours are 4 to 7:30 p.m. So the week after the tree lighting, Thanksgiving week included, has the most weekday skating of the season.

Before that weekend

Two events come earlier in November, and one isn't in Walnut Creek.

The Kristi Yamaguchi Holiday Ice Rink is at City Center Bishop Ranch in San Ramon. Its opening ceremony is Friday, November 6, from 6 to 7 p.m. Opening-night tickets cost $35. The season runs through January 3, 2027. It isn't a new location. Patch reported the rink at Bishop Ranch last year too, with a $22 admission for 90 minutes and a $90 season pass. For 2026, the Bishop Ranch ticket page lists $23 for a 90-minute session with skate rental, $16 weekday-value sessions and a $100 season pass. This year it adds an overhead canopy for skating in bad weather, plus a Saturday Learn to Skate Academy that costs $169 for five weeks.

Diablo Ballet's The Nutcracker Suite plays the Lesher Center on Friday, November 13, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, November 14, at 2 and 7:30 p.m. A complimentary family event follows the Saturday matinee.

Taken together, a family could skate in San Ramon from November 6, see the Nutcracker a week later, and still have the Civic Park opening weekend ahead.

After it, the season moves toward Broadway Plaza

Thanksgiving weekend starts the second stretch. On November 27 to 29, the Lesher Center has two holiday-season shows. The Ballet School Performing Arts presents Once Upon A Christmas, featuring Ballet Joyeux, and Poison Apple Productions presents Mary Poppins. On Saturday, November 28, Broadway Plaza holds the first of its two free outdoor Makers Markets from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with local makers, artists and live music. The second is Saturday, December 19.

Broadway Plaza holds its own Holiday Parade of Lights and Tree Lighting on Thursday, December 3, from 6 to 8 p.m. Santa leads the tree lighting. So downtown has two tree lightings this season, held 13 days apart.

Broadway Plaza also schedules Pet Night with Santa on November 16, 23 and 30 and December 7 and 14, from 4 to 7 p.m. Regular Santa photo prices apply.

December's performances fill out the rest of the month:

• December 6, 5 to 6:45 p.m.: The Walnut Creek Concert Band plays its "Snow Day!" Holiday Concert at Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church.
• December 9 to 23: Center REP stages A Christmas Carol at the Lesher Center, produced in association with AXIS Dance Company.
• December 12, 2 to 4 p.m.: The Diablo Symphony Orchestra performs Holiday Concert: The Snowman Meets Vivaldi! at Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church.
• December 12, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.: Christmas Dreaming with Stella Cole, part of the Headliners Series, plays the Lesher Center.
• December 16 to 23: Fantasy Forum Actors Ensemble presents Visit to the North Pole at the Lesher Center.

December 12 has a holiday concert in both the afternoon and the evening. If you want both, the 2 p.m. symphony at the church and the 7:30 p.m. show at the Lesher Center leave room for dinner between them.

What to know before you skate at Civic Park

Walnut Creek on Ice runs from November 20 through January 18, 2027. Both skating and the ice slide cost $20 for a 90-minute session, and combo tickets start at $20. The rink is completely cashless, so you pay online or on-site with an approved digital payment method. The skating ticket includes skate rental, and the organizers strongly encourage booking ahead.

A few details are easy to miss:

1. The 90-foot Frosty's Summit Ice Slide is a separate ticket with its own time slot. You can ride as many times as you like during your session, but it doesn't share a booking with skating.
2. You can book rinkside fire pits without skating. Each seats up to four people and is added on by date.
3. Littles Skate is for children 5 and under with a parent or caretaker. It runs Wednesdays from 10 to 11 a.m. on December 2 and 16 and January 13, and one ticket covers one adult and one child.
4. Civic Park is open on both holidays. Walnut Creek on Ice opens 6 to 9:30 p.m. on Thanksgiving and 2 to 9:30 p.m. on Christmas Day. The Bishop Ranch rink closes on both days.
5. Weekend hours are long. Saturdays run 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Sundays 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Non-holiday Fridays run 4 to 10:30 p.m.

For parking, the City of Walnut Creek's downtown parking page lists the first hour free at the Broadway, Lesher Center and South Locust garages, then $1.25 an hour. Special-event parking at the Lesher garage can cost up to $5. On November 21 and 22, when there's a Smuin performance on the same street as opening weekend at the rink, check the posted rate before you assume the first hour is free.

If friends or family are visiting for the holidays and want to look at homes between skating sessions, LJA Homes LLC would be glad to help plan an easy afternoon around Civic Drive. Let's Connect.