Amazing amazing annual festival upper west side. Great for kids, families and dates. This is one of our annual traditions to attend this incredible upper west side festival which is usually held on the first Monday in December, to kick off the holiday season. The festival is over a handful of blocks around Columbus Circle. The festivities start with a tree lighting, and include: - streets and various covered / inside locations peppered with musicians, small bands and entertainers - festive entertainers at various stations and walking the streets - one or two ice sculptures being sculpted live - giant, lit up and puppeteers strolling thru the neighborhood - performances put on by Barnum and baileys circus artists and Broadway show performers. One year my son was called on stage; great memories. - stations set up with crafts for kids - face painting, balloon twisting and other activities for kids... - 2-3 Santas in different locations - stores holding promotions - Food! There are three clusters of food tents with about 30 different restaurants offering one or two delicious food samples for $2-$5 each. Make sure to bring cash, since cards are not accepted. This year, my son and I went to the festival hungry and had an amazing food tasting experience. We strolled from tent to tent buying various samples; and between the two of us we had soup, Chili con carne, gnocchi with truffle oil, pork belly bun, tuna (sushi) rolls, gourmet mushroom tarts, beef brisket, a mini chocolate brownie, blueberry muffin and chocolate mousse. Restaurants whose samples we tried included: The Smith, Porter House, Cafe Fiorello, Bluebird, The Empire Rooftop, Bouchon Bakery, Momofuku Noodle Bar, Arturo Bakery, BONMI, Mandarin Oriental (our favorite). I love seeing my son try new foods, and he enjoyed almost everything. Highly recommend ! Truly great festival. Great memories. We look forward every year. Amazing for families and kids but would also be a fantastic experience with friends or a date! read more

What an absolutely wonderful event, full of music, cultural inclusion ,dance, and delicious food. This was the first time we have attended the annual event although, it has been in existence for 20 years. Go figure ‍‍ We sampled food from so many great restaurants and watched many live dance & musical performances. There was salsa, African dance, New Orleans Jazz.... just to name a few The food items were so kindly priced between $1-$4 so, can you say indulge!? We had lobster bisque, pasta, hot chocolate, meatballs, pastries, mousse, beef Wellington donuts and chocolate dipping sauce and everythingwas absolute delicious! All hits, no misses! Lincoln Center was so live yesterday and everyone partied in the slushy wet snow and it was totally worth it. ... read more

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I always enjoy going to this holiday festival. And each time, I'm always amazed by the amount of effort put in and hospitality shown by the people who organize this festival, year after year. Winter's Eve is produced by the Lincoln Square BID (the businesses around the Lincoln Center area) and is one the best free outdoor events our city has to offer. The fun begins with the annual tree lighting ceremony in Dante Park at 5:30pm. And then starting at 6pm the stages come alive with all sorts of musicians, singers, and dancers at various locations along Broadway from Columbus Circle to 68th Street. And there are roving musical bands and costumed characters on stilts that only add to the fun. However, the draw that brings back hundreds of people to this event each year is the food. Many of the well-known neighborhood restaurants offer tastings of their food dishes for a nominal fee of three or four dollars. Rows of tents are set up along Broadway and all the popular eating spots like Landmarc in the Time Warner building, Boulud Sud across from Lincoln Center, and Tavern on the Green provide small sampling plates. Now at thirty five, each year the list of restaurants, cafes and bakeries continues to grow. And just in case after all the food and entertainment you get a whim to go shopping some of the retail stores offer shopping discounts, gift bags, complimentary wine and cheese, apple cider, hot cocoa and more. I should also mention that a portion of the proceeds from the food tastings go to New York Cares and that there are drop off sites for New York Cares' Winter Coat Drive. read more

I went for the first time tonight with friends. It instantly made my day and put me in the fun holiday spirits! It spreads from Columbus Circle all the way to Lincoln Square. When I arrived at Lincoln Square, I didn't realize it was more than that, so I spent all my money in that little park right outside of the subways! But the festival is long. It consists of tons of different food stands for things $2 - $4 each, bands, dance performances, freebies (shout out to Disney for that air freshener), a Menorah and Christmas tree to take a picture with, and more. And fyi, it is the white tents, and not the red striped ones. Great evening to enjoy with friends or family. Just walk up and down the avenue and enjoy :) read more

I loved the live music! And loved the food samples. Lots of great choices! I got a yummy rice pudding and tasty polenta. The art performances were beautiful. This part of the night was lovely and I commend the participants on a good job here. However... I give it 3 stars because my sole purpose of attending the Winter's eve was so my 15 month old would meet Daniel Tiger. The website makes you think you're going to meet him when you go into the studio. Instead, it was a disorganized mess. I got to the studio at 5.30 and the line was already 1/2 the block long and at least 3-4 families deep when I got on line. Daniel came out to the very long line around 6.30. But he was slow in his progress because he was mobbed by people coming from the opposite side of the street who didn't wait at all on line. All of us who had been waiting barely got a glimpse of him, let alone met him. That was frustrating! Not all the parents exercised the manners and good will DT promotes in his show which left us parents who were trying to set the example out in the cold. The whole thing descended into chaos, which was disappointing. If it were me organizing this I would have done some things different. Had multiple DTs working the long line or stationed at various places and give out tickets for just those designated locations.. Or not heavily advertised DT but quietly set up tickets online to ensure kids get to meet him but with more order and not outside in the cold. I have other ideas but too much to write. read more

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I love this event. I tried to go every year. It takes place the first Monday in December or rare occasion the Monday after Thanksgiving if the first Monday in December is late. For example in 2015, the event took place November 30. There are some things that stay consistent every year such as the ice sculpture, free giveaways, live performances, and free hot chocolate/apple cider and cookies. Every year, there is a lived ice sculpturing, different sculpture each year. I noticed the banks always give out freebies. In 2013, I got a 1GB usb from CitiBank and in 2015, TB bank was giving out elf hat. There are so much activities for kids to partake. The live performances are always great. From Christmas carols to live dance music. Once thing for sure is that you must visit the Time Warner Building. Some of the stores give out complimentary items or discount on purchases. And there's always the beautiful LED star-shaped decoration. I always look for to this event every year. It never disappoint. read more

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There's s special warm vibe in New York City come the holidays, and a visit to this local festival is a great way to bask in the convivial glow. The Winter's Eve festival is small and all within a few blocks, but has an abundance of charm. There's entertainment, food tastings, arts and crafts and even ice sculpting. The entertainment areas get crowded. If you are serious about seeing them, get to the site early and grow roots. There was even a clown going around tickling people with a feather attached to an extended fake arm. There's something about lighting a tree, big or small, that says," Be happy because Christmas is here." I prefer to go for the food offerings. My favorite tastings are from the tents directly outside the Time Warner Center, from the higher end restaurants here. Don't expect cheap bites with plentiful amounts. Do expect high quality, small bites. This year, they were capped at $4. Asiate, however long their lines are, should be a must for all. Everything I've ever sampled from them has been exquisite. Unfortunately, I don't know if this year they simply ran out of soup or just wanted to serve as many tastings as possible. At $2 for what felt like 2 Tablespoons, it felt like a tease, especially since it was served in a full sized cup and was only about 1/4 of it. Had I known, I would have asked for two cups. I had forgotten the gasket for my thermos, or I would have just asked them to fill it up and charge me! But doubling the price and the amount would have felt like a true tasting, rather than two swallows of an incredible mushroom veloute with shrimp. As a non meat eater, I also thought the restaurants here, offering chili con carne, short ribs, chicken tika masala, and gumbo, orecchiette and sausage, geared more towards meat eaters. Luckily, I was able to score the excellent spicy tuna roll from Bar Masa, so good I hopped back on the short line(at that time) again. And a perennial favorite of mine is Bouchon Bakery, with their bouchons, delectable and chewy, that are chock full of rich chocolate in the bits of chocolate inside and in the softer brownie like cake. They travel well and at $1 a piece, you can pack a few to go for yourself and friends. Tip: DO grab the map that's given out and READ it, which I didn't do due to my standard post work brain cloud and was disappointed when I found out later a few of the churches and schools in the area were offering free entertainment inside. I make the same mistake whenever I go and end with the same regrets later. There are three food stations so it isn't merely the few vendors outside of Time Warner. Retailers in the area were also offering discounts, and even hot chocolate and cider. Go prepared for crowds and lines, and you'll be immersed in holiday cheer. read more

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What's not to like--food tents from of the area restaurants with samples for about $2-$4, live music every couple of blocks in various genres, ice sculpture carving to watch, decorations, and a big tree. Music and walking around are free, food costs whatever you're willing to pay, and there were some good foods out--it's basically a "taste of" event for the Lincoln Square area. read more

Fun event! We were here late. Event started at 5pm, we came at around 7-ish. Great music! Great band! You can sample food from different restaurant too! read more

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Music, food, lights, cookies, crafts, freebies and festive fun! I love winters eve! Great with friends or family. read more

Lincoln Square Winters Eve - Festivals Near Me - New York, New York

If you want to get into your Christmas Spirit you just need to go to the Lincoln Center Winters Eve event and see the lighting of the tree, sample some of the tasty foods and listen to some of the bands playing. Located right outside my bfs parents place this is a very convenient event. Even though the place is packed and you walk about 1 mile an hour it is a great atmosphere where city folk become country folk just for a few hours. People who you do not know will approach you and engage in a conversation all because of the Christmas spirit being spread around and the yummy foods being served all the way from 66th street to Columbus Circle. These are one of the many events that makes me love New York and makes it my home. read more

Nice enough event attended by locals of the areas and/or food enthusiasts. The tastes, scattered along Broadway, are a nice entry point but of course not a true representation of the full experience at most of the spots. read more

This is a really wonderful event but this year's festival was so incredibly crowded that we had to leave early because we couldn't take it and it was virtually impossible to get close to any of the venues we tried, including the food area. Even though we went early, the place was jam-packed read more

This was a one night event that as fun! I arrived late because I had classes so I missed the christmas tree lighting ceremony. There was so much happening when i arrived. there were tents of food vendors which was great, some were redic priced while others were more affordable $1-$5. The prices seems cheap but some places it was just a small sample or just one of the items so if you got a little here and there it added up fast. I had pasta with my friends which was great! Some of the lines were crazy, they were winding all over the place. The best part was all the music that was happening around you and all the performances. They also had ice sculptures that were awesome, but were melting because of the warm weather. read more

Great Weather Great Crowd Great Tree Lighting and Entertainment ( from 58th to 68th on Broadway) Great Vendors this year with most items $2-$4 and even a few freebies along the Festival Route. Some of the stores even had some little festivities with tastings and other givaways. and we can't forget Santa who managed to be in 3 places tonight....holy moly that Fat bubbly guy gets around! me and a friend made our rounds with five kids and the smiles and love seen on thier faces was all worth the trip and time. ice sculpture of the Nutcracker in front of Time warner building was a big HIT!!! read more

Weather was great last night, not so cold. The food was fabulous with lots of selection. Music performers takes over almost each and every block, free gifts, hot chocolate, cookies from TD. It seemed everyone had a good time! Happy holidays! read more

A one night event and what drew us in were all the famous restaurants serving up the goods. The more popular ones had some crazy lines but everything moved pretty quickly. Crowds were kind of ridiculous at times but nothing to totally off put the night. Some good food to be had ranging from $1.00-5.00. I thought too many restaurants went the easy route and did soup, boooo to that. Lots of strollers going around and plenty of activities that were more family oriented. A good time for the foodies as well. read more

This was an amazing event. If you are in the need to get i n to the holiday spirit, this is the event to attend.The food was plentiful and there was such great music. The streets were filled with both. I must give a special shout out to this group that was out there called BATALA. NYC. This Afro-Brazilian Samba reggae all female drumming troupe were an amazing. I couldn't see all of the performances, but if they were all as good as this group, then I know everyone was pleased. Kudos to the organizers of this event. read more

This was my first tree lighting at Lincoln Center and I had a really good time. I have to admit though, I was slightly surprised when I rounded the corner and saw the tree because it was pretty small. I was expecting it to look like that of the one at Rockefeller Center, but it is way smaller. After the lighting, a brass band play in front of the tree and performed a good show. Their playlist was so wonderfully diversed, including Amy Winehouse, some really old school blues songs and New Orleans jazz, for a moment it felt like Mardi Gras. The crowd was all smiles and if they weren't having a good time, they were some incredible actors. The feel and vibe was like being a chill, spring, outdoor concert. There were food vendors lining the area and other random performances on what seemed like every corner from the time you walked pass Columbus Circle. There was nothing you couldn't do here- eat, watch shows, listen to music, whatever. I would recommend this to anyone. It's a good way to see the neighborhood and indulge in that good feel for the night. Must, must, must... read more