Click here for the Winter Festival Youth Art Exhibition Prospectus

The 36th annual Winter Festival – a Celebration of Lights, Music and the Arts will fill downtown Tallahassee with merriment on Saturday, December 3 from 3-10 p.m. Year after year, this event draws more than 100,000 people to the heart of the city.

In addition to delicious food vendors, unique arts and crafts merchants and sparkling holiday displays, this year’s Winter Festival will include the following jolly happenings:

• Candy Cane Lane in McCarty Park – Enjoy a stroll through this magical holiday scene from 3-10 p.m. on December 3 and come back to enjoy it later in the week.
• Children’s Activity Area on Kleman Plaza – Throughout the event, children will enjoy hands-on arts and crafts and fun bounce houses.
• Four stages of live entertainment – Find local actors, dancers, musicians and more taking the stage throughout the night in the following locations:
  • Choral/Small Ensemble Stage on Kleman Plaza
  • Ponce de Leon Park Stage
  • Showmobile on Adams Street near City Hall
  • Front steps of First Baptist Church on College Avenue
• Lighting Ceremony at 6 p.m. on the Parade Judge’s Platform, located on South Monroe Street at Bloxham Park – Mark the official start to the season with remarks from local dignitaries and see the official flip of the switch as the Chain of Parks illuminates.
• Capital Health Plan Jingle Bell Run at 6:15 p.m. – Registration is open. This popular event draws thousands of runners who traverse a course through downtown, ending where they began at Park Avenue and Monroe Street.
• Nighttime Holiday Parade at 7:15 p.m. – Grab a spot early for this centerpiece event! More than 65 parade entries will fill Monroe Street with holiday cheer.

Due to the bustling activities of Winter Festival, traffic will be heavy downtown on December 3, and many roads will be closed. StarMetro’s Saturday routes and the Trolley route will also be impacted. Patrons attending Winter Festival are encouraged to arrive early. For a complete map of road closures and information about parking and other traffic-related impacts, visit Talgov.com/WinterFestival.

This year, the Lighting Ceremony, start of the Jingle Bell Run and full Nighttime Holiday Parade will be broadcast live on WCOT (channel 13) and streamed live on Talgov.com, Facebook.com/COTNews and Twitter.com/COTNews.

The City of Tallahassee is proud to continue the tradition of welcoming the winter holiday season through the community celebration that is Winter Festival. For complete event information, visit Talgov.com/WinterFestival.

In conjunction with the Winter Festival festivities downtown, COCA curates a juried exhibition of student artwork, the Winter Festival Youth Art Exhibition, at the City Hall art gallery and on our virtual gallery space. The show exhibits artwork of students age K-12 from public, private, and charter schools. This year, the show will be up from November 17th, 2022 to January 30th, 2023, with an Opening Reception on November 18th, 2022 from 6 to 8pm.