Winterfest Begins As Downtown Tulsa Rings In Holiday Season

It's the start of ice skating season in downtown Tulsa. The eighth-annual Winterfest kicked off on Friday.

It may be a rainy start to Winterfest, but the rink is open and ready for families to take over the ice.

Winterfest will last 52 days. It closes on Jan. 17.

Learn more about Winterfest

There’s more than ice skating. You can take in horse and carriage rides over the weekends, and there are concessions and festive decorations all over the place.

The annual downtown Christmas tree lighting takes place on Sunday night beneath the backdrop of the city skyline.

Winterfest is put on by the BOK Center, and it's presented by Arvest with FABWell.

Organizers say building an ice rink in the middle of downtown Tulsa takes some planning.

"Setting up for Winterfest takes about two weeks, a little over two weeks,” BOK Center Special Events Manager Brian Smith said. “So they come in, since this street is not level, they have to construct a sand box. So they construct the sand box, 40 loads of trucks come in."

If you're going to brave the rain on Friday, Winterfest is a great reason to do it -- you can rent a pair of skates for $10 bucks for adults and $5 for kids under 3 years old. They also have group promotions as well.

The ice rink will be open until 11 p.m. tonight. For full schedule of hours, click here.