Reston Town Center's skating pavilion is built for a long season. It opens every day from November through March, and its season was scheduled to start Friday, Nov. 6, weather permitting. Across town, Reston Association's Winterfest packs its whole season into three evenings at Brown's Chapel Park, Thursday through Saturday, Dec. 3 to 5.
These are two separate holiday calendars with different hosts, pricing and rhythms. Between Nov. 12 and Dec. 5, the useful planning question is which events fall on which calendar, how much each costs, and where the Friday after Thanksgiving sits between them.
The rink keeps the long calendar
The pavilion is the one holiday fixture in Reston you can use on an ordinary Tuesday. According to Reston Town Center, it runs 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and stays open until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. It keeps more than 500 pairs of rental skates on hand.
On the ticket page, adult admission for ages 13 and up is $12. Youth admission for ages 12 and under is $10, as is senior and military admission, and rental skates are not included. You pay each time you go, which suits short visits: an hour after school, or a late Saturday skate once dinner is done.
Those late weekend hours matter later in the month. On a Friday or Saturday, the rink stays open well past the time most other holiday events have shut down.
The smaller November dates in between
The stretch between the rink's opening and Thanksgiving week has no single big event. It does have a handful of smaller dates spread across Reston:
- Through Nov. 30, Lake Anne Plaza: Reston Art Gallery and Studios is showing "Color Connects," featuring work by Marthe McGrath, through Nov. 30. The exhibit is free, and the artist reception is Sunday, Nov. 15, 2 to 4 p.m., according to the Reston Community Center listing.
- Tuesday, Nov. 17, Walker Nature Center: "Nature's Harvest" runs 10 to 11 a.m. It costs $8 for RA members and $10 for nonmembers, per the Reston Association calendar.
- Saturday, Nov. 21, Reston Town Center: The Saturday Dog Strut meets at Scout & Molly's at 9:30 a.m. for a group dog walk, breakfast treats and in-store promotions.
The Nature's Harvest pricing is a preview of how Winterfest works. RA members pay a little less at the nature center, and at Brown's Chapel the member discount covers the full ticket.
The trails need a quick check this month as well. Reston Association says crews from WSSI are removing invasive plants at nine Reston worksites from the start of October through November. Signs mark the work areas, and RA asks visitors to stay on open trails. If your weekend dog walk usually runs through a wooded section, you may see detour signs there before Thanksgiving.
Nov. 27 is the day Town Center does everything at once
The 34th annual Reston Holiday Parade and Tree Lighting falls on Friday, Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving. It is the only date this season when all of Town Center's holiday events happen on the same day. The day runs in this order:
- 11 a.m. The parade, with floats, marching bands, giant balloons and community performers.
- 4:30 p.m. Sip & Stroll begins.
- 6 p.m. The Town Center tree is lit.
- 8 p.m. Sip & Stroll ends.
Parade day falls on a Friday, three weeks after the rink's Friday, Nov. 6 opening date, so the rink keeps its late hours and stays open until 11 p.m. That leaves three hours of skating after Sip & Stroll ends, and an easy way to finish the night without leaving Town Center.
The longer gap is the afternoon, between the end of the parade and the 4:30 start of Sip & Stroll. For many households, that gap is where lunch or an early dinner goes.
Where dinner fits on parade night
Restaurants around Town Center have changed since last year's parade. FFXnow reported that True Food Kitchen served its last meal at 11901 Democracy Drive on Oct. 4. The company's Merrifield location remains open.
The biggest new name this season is closer to the Metro. Ebbitt House, a new restaurant from Clyde's Restaurant Group, is at 1860 Reston Row Plaza. The Burn describes it as being across the plaza from the new JW Marriott at Reston Station and modeled on Old Ebbitt Grill in the District, a restaurant whose history goes back to 1856. The Ebbitt House site describes classic American cooking: oysters and raw-bar dishes, martinis, cheeseburgers, steak, housemade pastas, seafood and plates to share.
Its listed hours line up well with the holiday calendar: 11 a.m. to midnight Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to midnight on Sunday. With a Friday closing time of 1 a.m., the restaurant's posted schedule stretches past the end of the tree lighting and past closing time at the rink. Reservations are handled through OpenTable, which is linked from the restaurant's hours and location page.
Winterfest fits the whole season into three nights
A week after the parade, the season moves to Brown's Chapel Park. According to Reston Association's announcement, Winterfest is in its fourth year and runs 5 to 9 p.m. each night, Thursday, Dec. 3 through Saturday, Dec. 5. This year's program includes:
- The half-mile Light Up the Park walk, lit by thousands of holiday lights
- The Enchanted Forest of decorated trees sponsored by local businesses, community groups and families
- A Vendor Village for holiday shopping
- Fire pits with marshmallows, plus food trucks and seasonal treats
- Free photos with Santa Claus
- Grinch's Village
- New for 2026: the Polar Play Park, with ice carvings and interactive ice games, weather permitting
The rink lasts five months. Winterfest lasts 12 hours over three evenings, and every guest needs a ticket, including RA members and children who get in free. FFXnow reported that tickets went on sale at noon on Oct. 15, and they are sold at reston.org/winterfest. With a window that short, the night you pick is the main decision.
What each calendar costs a household of four
The pricing on the two calendars works differently. At Town Center, everyone pays every visit. At Brown's Chapel, RA membership decides the cost. The table below uses two adults and two children, assuming both children are between 3 and 12, which puts them in the youth price at the rink and the child price at Winterfest.
| Outing | Who pays | Two adults, two children | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rink skate session | Everyone, each visit | $44 admission, rental extra | Daily, Nov. through March |
| Winterfest, RA members or passholders | No one, tickets still required | $0 | Dec. 3 to 5, 5 to 9 p.m. |
| Winterfest, nonmembers | Each ticketed guest | $60 | Dec. 3 to 5, 5 to 9 p.m. |
| Nature's Harvest, per person | Each attendee | $8 member, $10 nonmember | Nov. 17, 10 to 11 a.m. |
| Lake Anne "Color Connects" exhibit | Free | $0 | Through Nov. 30 |
The $44 figure covers a single skate session before rentals. A family that goes back to the rink several times through the winter will spend more there than a nonmember family spends on one Winterfest night. A member household can skip that Winterfest cost altogether. In practice, the Town Center calendar adds up over many visits, and the Brown's Chapel calendar is a single, member-priced outing in the first week of December.
Holiday plans are often when people start picturing their next home, including how close it sits to the Town Center rink or to a Brown's Chapel walk. If those questions are on your mind this season, Wicker Homes Group can walk you through how Reston's different areas compare, starting with a free home valuation for your current home.
