The first switch flips at 6:30 tonight at Esplanade Park, where Get Lit starts Light Up Lauderdale, Riverwalk's 10-week run of holiday lights along the New River. Over the next five weeks, the City of Fort Lauderdale holds six lighting events in different parts of town.
The order has a pattern. November goes to the river and the ocean. December goes to Sistrunk Boulevard and Carter Park. The night after the last lighting, the Seminole Hard Rock Winterfest Boat Parade leaves from Stranahan House on the New River, a short walk from where the season started. If you want to see all of it, here is the calendar to plan around.
| Date | Event | Where | Lighting time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu, Nov. 5 | Light Up Lauderdale / Get Lit | Esplanade Park | 6:30 p.m. |
| Sat, Nov. 7 | Downtown Day of the Dead | Esplanade Park and SW 3rd Ave | none |
| Thu, Nov. 12 | Light Up the Galt | North Beach Restaurants and Shoppes | 6:30 p.m. |
| Sat, Nov. 14 | Riverwalk International Food Festival | Esplanade Park | none |
| Thu, Nov. 19 | Light Up the Beach | Las Olas Oceanside Park | 6:30 p.m. |
| Fri, Dec. 4 | Light Up Sistrunk | Sistrunk Blvd, NW 9th to 11th Aves | 7 p.m. |
| Sun, Dec. 6 | Menorah Lighting Celebration | Las Olas Oceanside Park | 6 p.m. |
| Fri, Dec. 11 | Light Up Carter Park | Carter Park, 1450 W. Sunrise Blvd. | evening |
| Sat, Dec. 12 | Winterfest Boat Parade | Starts at Stranahan House | 6 p.m. start |
Tonight on the river
Get Lit runs from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Esplanade Park, at 400 SW 2nd St. According to the City of Fort Lauderdale Parks & Recreation schedule, the evening goes like this:
- 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.: Kids Zone
- 6:30 p.m.: Lighting ceremony
- 7 to 8:30 p.m.: Belles of Harmony
Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale's event page says admission is free. It also lists live holiday music, kids' crafts and a visit from Santa. Bring a new, unwrapped toy if you can. Riverwalk is working with the Suits, Stilettos & Lipstick Foundation on the 25th Annual John & Elizabeth's Toy Drive, which collects toys for 10,000 Title I elementary students in Broward County Public Schools. The drop-off tent is at the park's northeast entrance. The drive takes toys for ages 3 to 12 and asks for no toy weapons or stuffed animals.
Tonight is only the start for the river lights. Riverwalk describes the display as a 10-week celebration, so the New River stays lit well into the new year.
Esplanade Park has two more free Saturdays this month
Esplanade Park hosts two more free events in the next nine days.
On Saturday, Nov. 7, the Second Annual Downtown Day of the Dead comes to Esplanade Park from 3 to 8 p.m. A costume stroll starts at 6 p.m. along SW 2nd Street and the Riverwalk. A block party runs from 5 to 11 p.m. on SW 3rd Avenue by Revolution Live, which Riverwalk co-hosts with Damn Good Hospitality, the group behind Revolution Live and Backyard Ft. Lauderdale. Riverwalk's page lists traditional Mexican food and drinks along the river and encourages Día de los Muertos-inspired outfits for the stroll, including Catrina costumes and face paint. Admission is free. Registering on Eventbrite is optional.
On Saturday, Nov. 14, the 6th Annual Riverwalk International Food Festival runs from noon to 4 p.m. It's the one daytime event on this calendar. Riverwalk describes Caribbean, Latin American, European, Asian and Middle Eastern food from South Florida restaurants, food vendors and culinary artisans, plus music. Admission is free.
Count the Nov. 5 lighting and the same park hosts three free events in ten days. After the 14th, the city's events move off the river.
Thursdays move east and north
Light Up the Galt is next, on Thursday, Nov. 12, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at North Beach Restaurants and Shoppes. Riverwalk's listing gives the address as 3300 NE 33rd St. This one has the busiest schedule of the six. Live music on 33rd Street, a Letters to Santa station, make-and-take crafts, gingerbread man and gingerbread house photos, and a holiday pop-up gift market with local business activities all run for the full three hours. The Grinch and Cindy Lou, plus Elf and Jovie, start walking around at 6 p.m., along with a Nutcracker stilt walker and balloon artists. The tree lighting is at 6:30. The pop-up market makes the Galt event the one to plan around if you have holiday shopping to do.
A week later, on Thursday, Nov. 19, Light Up the Beach takes over Las Olas Oceanside Park from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The city says more than 50,000 lights will go on along the beachfront. "Olas," the 20-foot beach snowman, comes back to A1A and Las Olas Boulevard. The Fort Lauderdale Symphonic Winds perform, and a kids zone has Santa, inflatables and slides. The lighting ceremony is at 6:30.
That makes three Thursdays in a row at the same 6:30 lighting time: the river on Nov. 5, the Galt Ocean Mile on Nov. 12 and the beach on Nov. 19.
December moves west
After Thanksgiving, the series picks up on Fridays and in different parts of town.
Light Up Sistrunk is Friday, Dec. 4, from 5 to 8 p.m. on Sistrunk Boulevard between NW 9th and 11th Avenues. If you see Thursday, Dec. 3 on another calendar, the city's schedule lists Friday. This event starts and lights earlier than the November ones. A welcome and invocation runs from 5 to 5:15. PLAY Fort Lauderdale After-School performs at 6, and the tree lighting is at 7. The city lists live bands, food trucks, a health fair and a teen area with a DJ. The Black AIDS Advisory Group sponsors a toy giveaway that runs all evening. The kids zone has Santa, bounce houses, slides, and arts and crafts.
Two days later, on Sunday, Dec. 6, the series goes back to Las Olas Oceanside Park for the Menorah Lighting Celebration at 6 p.m. The city describes it as marking the third night of Hanukkah with a traditional menorah lighting, music and customary treats.
Light Up Carter Park closes the city series on Friday, Dec. 11, from 5 to 8 p.m. at 1450 W. Sunrise Blvd. The city's event listing mentions performances, bounce houses, train rides, crafts and giveaways, and the night ends with the park's holiday tree lighting.
The river gets the last night
The night after Carter Park, on Saturday, Dec. 12, the Seminole Hard Rock Winterfest Boat Parade starts at 6 p.m. The route begins at Stranahan House, heads east on the New River, then turns north on the Intracoastal toward Lake Santa Barbara in Pompano Beach. That first stretch of river is the same one Riverwalk will have lit for five weeks by then. Winterfest's own date page says dates can change without notice, so check it again in early December.
That puts the last city tree lighting and the boat parade on back-to-back nights, on opposite sides of downtown. If December gets busy, a Friday at Carter Park and a Saturday on the river make a good weekend.
If friends or family visiting for the holidays start asking about Fort Lauderdale's neighborhoods between lightings, the team at Joe Caprio and Co. Real Estate is glad to help with what we know about South Florida, at whatever pace works for you. Contact Us.
