Tulsa Winterfest Drawing Holiday Crowds

The gifts are open, the meals eaten - now Green Country families are getting some fresh air. Winterfest at the BOK Center is where lots of outdoor holiday fun is happening.

Winterfest is one of the few places open on Christmas, and families are taking advantage. Some people had been waiting all day just to get on the ice. 

Some were in such a hurry they forgot the skates - and kept their shoes on to enjoy the ice rink at Winterfest.

Julie Hall's family drove in from Texas. 

"We thought it would be a festive way to enjoy the holidays - to come ice skating. They've never been to downtown Tulsa so..."

"We don't have snow in Texas, really!" said Amy Kofron, Texas resident.

After the ice got a nice polish by the Zamboni, skaters - some for their first time - took to the ice.

"It's been five years since the last time I skated, so it's actually been pretty hard so I've been falling a lot," said ice skater Katelyn Briley.

There were slips and falls, but some couldn't imagine Christmas in Tulsa any other way.

11/29/2013 Related Story: Winterfest's Outdoor Ice Rink Opens In Downtown Tulsa

"You get to come out here and see all the light and it's really fun," Briley said.

Rainee Million was all excited to try out her new set of ice skates Santa brought her this Christmas.

For many families that spent most of the day opening gifts, getting out to the ice rink is one way to burn off a little calories.

All that energy sitting inside was boiling up in some area homes, so families watched as children tore up the rink.

"I was like, 'let's go skating,'" said Katelyn Briley.

Winterfest goes through New Year's until January 5th. Find out more.