Downtown Santa Monica's Winter Calendar Is Built to Bring You Back. Here's How It Runs.

At 3 p.m. today, Thursday, November 5, the ice goes live at the corner of Arizona Avenue and 5th Street. Frost on Fifth is back for its grand opening. Skate rental and admission cost $22, and lockers are $5. Season passes and multi-session passes are on sale, and on weekdays the rink stays open until 10 p.m. It runs through January 18, 2027. That gives it about ten weeks, long enough to become a weeknight habit.

The rink is the most visible part of a winter downtown that Downtown Santa Monica Inc. has planned in layers. The rink runs every day. The farmers market runs twice a week. Block Fest takes over the Promenade once a month. Each layer happens on a different schedule, and together they give people a reason to come back on an ordinary Tuesday in December as well as on a big Saturday night.

The thinking behind the calendar

In an October 22 interview with the Santa Monica Daily Press, DTSM CEO Debbie Lee described the goal plainly. "We want residents to come here and use Downtown as their downtown," she said. "And then, of course, we want to welcome the rest of the world to come and enjoy what our locals love."

Lee told the paper the organization treats big events and small recurring programs as two parts of one plan. "Activations work to spark interest," she said. "The lighter-touch events and the surprise and delight create a reason for people to come back time and time again."

The numbers she shared help explain the approach. About 2.4 million people visited Downtown Santa Monica in August 2026, nearly 20% more than in August 2025. The Promenade drew about 380,000 of those visitors, only about 2% more year over year, though construction affected part of the district during that time. Spending grew faster than visits. In July, Promenade visitors spent more than $110 per day on average, up 12.5% from the year before, and total Promenade spending rose 11.2%.

Lee also argued that foot traffic tells only part of the story. "If foot traffic is down but spend is up, what does that mean?" she asked. In her view, the longer someone stays, the more likely they are to have another meal, visit another shop or catch an event. The SMDP summed up her position this way: "That makes dwell time an economic-development strategy." A September 2026 city presentation put that figure at 70 minutes on the Promenade between June 1 and August 15, up 4.5% from the same period a year earlier. Across downtown as a whole it was 97 minutes.

That's why the winter schedule repeats so much. A rink open every afternoon, a market twice a week and a festival every month each give people another reason to stay a little longer and come back.

The winter calendar, sorted by how often it happens

The farmers market is the year-round layer. It runs Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. through the winter, with closures around some holidays. DTSM's Forever Summer pop-up, which added seating, music, Hermanito spritzes and ceviche to market mornings, had its last scheduled date on October 31. The market is still the most reliable reason to walk downtown on a weekday morning.

The Gourmandise School's lineup, published by Visit Santa Monica on October 27, follows the holidays in order:

1. Winter Soups & Stews, November 19
2. Thanksgiving pies, November 25
3. Hanukkah dishes, December 6
4. Christmas Afternoon Tea, December 19
5. Yule Log Bake & Take, December 20

DTSM's holiday page says more special rink events and holiday programming are coming. Check it before each weekend.

Block Fest is the monthly draw

If the rink brings people back every day, Block Fest is the big monthly event. It began as a summer series. In a September 11 announcement, DTSM said the first three summer editions averaged more than 20,000 attendees a night. That turnout was strong enough to extend the series every second Saturday through the end of the year.

The city's September presentation shows how much those nights added. Volume IV brought 28,736 visits to the Promenade, compared with 16,258 on the same date a year earlier, and generated about $1.42 million in Promenade spending, up 35% year over year.

There are two editions left this year:

• Block Fest Vol. IX, Saturday, November 14. It's a Friendsgiving edition that runs from 5 p.m. to midnight. It's free and open to all, with multiple stages, a night market of more than 20 food vendors, a vendor village and pop-up bars. Yappy Studios and Beat Repeat are among the stage curators.
• Block Fest Vol. X, Saturday, December 12. It's the city's last scheduled Block Fest of 2026.

The September edition gives a sense of the format. The night market lined Arizona Avenue with Dave's Hot Chicken, Luckyball BBQ and Bar Xuntos, and a live band played inside Barney's Beanery. On November 14, the market sits one block from the rink at Arizona and 5th, so you can skate before or after.

Where to eat between the rink and the stages

Two openings this fall give the calendar better places to eat. Gott's Roadside, the Northern California burger and shake spot, opened October 2 at 401 Wilshire Boulevard. That's a short walk from the rink and the south end of the Promenade.

Kogen Omakase is the quieter option. The Santa Monica Daily Press described it as a 10-seat counter at 109 Santa Monica Boulevard serving 20 courses, with Chef Yasu Iwai behind the counter. The city reported that it opened this summer.

The city's September presentation also lists several businesses as coming soon, and some are close to the rink and the Promenade:

• Cotti Coffee, 1353 Third Street Promenade, listed for fall 2026. Westside Current reported "Coming Soon" signage across from Starbucks.
• Brot Bakery, listed for fall 2026, on the Promenade.
• Arte Museum, listed for fall 2026, on the third level of Santa Monica Place.
• HQ GastroPub, 1360 Third Street Promenade, listed for winter 2026.

The storefronts in between

The empty-storefront reputation that DTSM is trying to move past is still part of the downtown picture. Lee told the SMDP that the Promenade is about 80% leased. Some spaces that look empty are leased, but the tenants are still in permitting or build-out.

DTSM fills some of the remaining gap with short-term pop-ups. Neutrogena recently ran a 30-day activation on the Promenade focused on new skincare and sun-care technology, and Lee said she'd like to bring in more temporary brand spaces like it. This winter, some storefronts may host a brand for a month at a time between longer leases.

The city is also working on the street itself. Crews started repairs at the southeast corner of Third Street Promenade and Wilshire Boulevard, replacing damaged pavers, sidewalk, curb and gutter. The work was scheduled to take about four weeks, with a goal of finishing before holiday shopping. Westside Current also reported that the city's $3 million economic-development fund covers studies for Promenade improvements, incentives to attract restaurants, tenant-improvement support and business recruitment. Construction is also underway on a digital-display program that could add as many as 16 screens around the Promenade and Santa Monica Place.

DTSM's board has named "Next Generation: Third Street Promenade" as one of its priorities, along with major events. The calendar on the city's presentation already runs past the holidays to the Rose Bowl and Parade on January 1 and Super Bowl LXI on February 14. If you'd rather walk or bike downtown and skip parking on Block Fest nights, our guide to getting around Santa Monica car-light covers the routes. For more of what's changing across the city, see our Santa Monica neighborhood page.

At Debbie Weiss, we follow Santa Monica from the farmers market to new Promenade leases, because what opens downtown is part of what we tell clients about the city. If you have a favorite new spot near the rink, or you're wondering how downtown's next chapter could affect your own corner of Santa Monica, Let's Connect.