Winter's Eve Festival Returns To Lincoln Square

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's officially time to ring in the holiday season. Winter's Eve at Lincoln Square — an annual holiday celebration featuring the largest tree-lighting ceremony on the Upper West Side — returns to the neighborhood on Monday, Nov. 27.

This year's Winter's Eve festival will feature will stretch nearly 10 city blocks in the Lincoln Square section of the Upper West Side. The streets will be packed with festivalgoers as well as various free entertainment options. The Winter's Eve organizers are also bringing in more than 30 neighborhood restaurants to serve as food and drink vendors, according to a press release.

This year's headliner for Winter's Eve will be Micky Dolenz of The Monkees. Dolenz was the lead singer of the iconic 1960s group and will perform some of The Monkees greatest hits as well as holiday staples.

"I was born in LA, but the holidays in NYC are always a must-see attraction. I’ve always loved New York and the Lincoln Square area especially; it will be an honor to perform there for this season’s Winter’s Eve," Dolenz said in a press release.

The festival's organizers — the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District — expect the event to draw crowds similar to previous years. In the past, Winter's Eve has drawn crowds of more than 20,000 people, organizers said.

The festival begins with a 5:30 p.m. tree lighting ceremony at Dante Park on West 63rd Street and Broadway and continues until 9 p.m., organizers said. The festival will stretch up Broadway from West 63rd to West 68th streets.

See a full list of road closures for the event below, provided by the NYPD;

• Columbus Avenue between West 67th Street and West 62nd Street;
• Broadway between West 69th Street and West 60th Street;
• Columbus Circle between West 60th Street and West 58th Street;
• West 61st Street between Central Park West and Broadway;
• West 62nd Street between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue;
• West 63rd Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue;
• West 64th Street between Central Park West and Broadway;
• West 65th Street between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue;

Photo by Filip Wolak courtesy of the Lincoln Square Business Improvement District.