Tree Lighting Skate-tacular
An original holiday tale on ice
An annual New York City Christmas tradition, Tree Lighting Skate-tacular is led by a celebrity narrator who reads an original Christmas tale. As the story unfolds, the characters are brought to life by world-class skaters performing on the ice, under the stars in the Midtown cityscape. Excitement builds until the finale: the Tree is lit, surrounded by fireworks.
Following the ceremony, all visitors are welcome to skate to live music on the city’s only free admission ice skating rink. Tree Lighting Skate-tacular is presented by Bank of America.
Click here to enjoy the livestream of our Tree Lighting show!
Find this on the Bryant Park map
About “The Lights Before Christmas”
“The Lights Before Christmas” is an original holiday tale created for Bryant Park’s Tree Lighting Skate-tacular. The story features the Light Family, a group of characters made entirely out of light.
Star is the youngest member of the Light Family, too young to know how to shine. As the story unfolds, Star meets everyday New Yorkers – portrayed by ice skaters – and discovers how to use her light to brighten the holidays.
Past Performers
Previous narrators include Alan Cumming (2018), Jane Krakowski (2017), Carrie Ann Inaba (2016), and Danny Aiello (2015).
Past skaters include Olympians Johnny Weir, Nancy Kerrigan, Brian Boitano, Kimmie Meissner, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, Jeff Buttle, and synchronized skaters The Haydenettes.
Rink Schedule
The Rink and Skating Pavilion close 2pm the day of the show. The Pavilion will re-open at 5pm, and The Rink will open for public skating right after the show, around 6:45pm.
Please note: The Rink will close 15 minutes early (9:45pm), the day before show, for rehearsals.
