Each year, some 25,000 holiday celebrants came together for the BID’s annual Winter’s Eve at Lincoln Square. The City’s largest free holiday festival, Winter’s Eve enjoyed a 20-year run spanning up and down Broadway from Columbus Circle to 70th Street, indoors and out, with an extravaganza of good cheer, palate-tickling food, action-packed activities and a heady range of live music and entertainment.
Since its launch in 2000, Winter’s Eve hosted world-renowned talent with performances by Ronnie Spector and The Ronettes, Arlo Guthrie and the Guthrie Family, Micky Dolenz, the voice of The Monkees, Judy Collins, Suzanne Vega, Billy Porter, Tom Chapin and The Chaplin Family, The Bacon Brothers, John Pizzarelli, Laurie Berkner, Odetta, Richie Havens, Lea Salonga, Dan Zanes, Laura Benanti, Justin Guarini, Mayors Bloomberg and Koch, The Met Opera, and many others.
The event hosted dozens of family activities in the stores, public spaces and along the sidewalks from Columbus Circle northwards to 70th Street, and offered special discounts and free gifts from retailers, too. Revelers were able to enjoy dance companies and performing street theater, chill out to jazz performances, and watch the Lincoln Square and Upper West Side’s holiday tree light up. Three outdoor food-tasting venues highlighted delicious food from over 30 of Lincoln Square’s best restaurants and eateries. There were also stages built in each park—Richard Tucker and Dante—for more amazing and free live music. The generous participants of Winter’s Eve include 100 neighborhood businesses (national and local), and Lincoln Square’s cultural and civic organizations.
We are proud of the impact this neighborhood tradition has had on our community. Share in the warmth with a video of Winters Eve at Lincoln Square 2019: 20th Anniversary, or visit our Flickr for a look back at years past.
