Michigan Travel · Grand Rapids
Dutch Winterfest returns to Holland Dec. 1–5 with a new Dutch Skate on the ice, the Sinterklaas Shuffle and the Kerstmarkt
HOLLAND, Mich. — Holland’s Tulip Time Festival will stage its second Dutch Winterfest Dec. 1–5, adding skaters in traditional Dutch dress on the city’s new ice rink to a week of Sinterklaas traditions, tasting tours and holiday music downtown.
The new event is Dutch Skate at the Holland Ice Park, a nod to one of the Netherlands’ most loved winter pastimes. “Dutch Skate is exactly the kind of experience we love creating,” said Gwen Auwerda, Tulip Time’s executive director. “It brings our Dutch heritage to life in a new and unexpected way.” Tickets are on sale now, organizers say.
Tuesday, Dec. 1. Delft Downtown, a display of oversized ornaments, wooden shoes and other Dutch icons in the style of blue-and-white Delft pottery, is up from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day of the festival. Dutch Skate runs 6 to 6:30 p.m., and the Parade of Lights steps off at 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday and Thursday, Dec. 2–3. Winter Tales for Tots runs 10 to 11 a.m. both days, and Dutch Skate returns at 6 p.m. The Holiday Huis Tour opens normally closed downtown buildings from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, a Delft ornament class runs Thursday, and Holland Community Theatre’s “Just in the Nick of Time” plays at 7 p.m. both nights.
Friday, Dec. 4. The Kerstmarkt holiday market opens 3 to 7 p.m., the Proost! Tasting Tour: Winter Edition runs 3 to 7:30 p.m., and families can join the Sinterklaas Shuffle from 5 to 8 p.m., following a lantern-and-passport route through downtown to themed stations and holiday characters. Windmill Island Gardens’ Magic at the Mill runs 5 to 9 p.m., and the Holland Concert Jazz Orchestra plays Winter Jazz at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 5. The Kerstmarkt runs 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., the Sinterklaas Shuffle 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Dutch Skate 2:30 to 3 p.m., the tasting tour 3 to 7:30 p.m. and Magic at the Mill 5 to 9 p.m. Michigan-IO’s Holiday Show closes the festival at 7 p.m.
Plan ahead. The Proost! tour, with three tastings and three bites led by a guide in Dutch costume, sold out during Holland’s Fall Fest, Auwerda told FOX 17. The Holland Ice Park, which also has a curling rink and fireplaces in a snowmelt plaza, is open evenings and weekends, with advance tickets starting in early November, according to the Holland Area Visitors Bureau.
Sources:
Tulip Time Festival, “Dutch Winterfest” (event list and daily schedule, Dec. 1–5, 2026), https://www.tuliptime.com/dutch-winterfest
Holland Area Visitors Bureau, “Dutch Winterfest,” https://www.holland.org/dutch-winterfest/
FOX 17, “Dutch Winterfest returns to Holland with Dutch dancers taking to the ice,” October 2026, https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/holland-zeeland-grand-haven/dutch-winterfest-returns-to-holland-with-dutch-dancers-taking-to-the-ice
FOX 17, “Dutch Winterfest returns to Holland for 2nd year this December,” October 2026, https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/holland-zeeland-grand-haven/dutch-winterfest-returns-to-holland-for-2nd-year-this-december
Photo: Andrew Jameson, “Holland Downtown Historic District B.JPG,” Dec. 11, 2010, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Holland_Downtown_Historic_District_B.JPG
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