The tenth Oh, What Fun! Holiday Festival runs at Lake Nona Town Center Fridays through Sundays, December 4 through 20, 2026. That's nine nights over three weekends. Each night of the week has its own lineup, its own Santa's Cottage price and, depending on which line of the official FAQ you read, its own snowfall schedule. Friday is a movie night at Boxi Park. Saturday is the band night, the only night both snow descriptions agree on, and the most expensive night to see Santa. Sunday belongs to the school groups.
The festival is also only the middle of the season. Town Center's public calendar has events on almost every weekend from this one through December 26, and the two paid parts of the festival both pay off if you act early.
The calendar from this weekend to the day after Christmas
Here is how the official Lake Nona listings line up, starting with the weekend this post goes out.
| Weekend | What's listed | Time and cost |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 29–Nov 1 | Boo Bash Weekend at Boxi Park; Art Aftr Dark on Oct 30 and 31 | Art Aftr Dark 6–10 p.m., free |
| Nov 6–8 | City of Orlando Veterans Day Parade, Saturday, Nov 7 | 11 a.m.–1 p.m. |
| Nov 13–15 | Art Aftr Dark Nov 13 and 14; Festivals of Speed, Sunday, Nov 15 | Festivals of Speed 11 a.m.–3 p.m. |
| Nov 20–22 | Nothing listed | |
| Nov 27–28 | Art Aftr Dark Nov 27 and 28; Small Business Saturday Market, Nov 28 | Market 5–10 p.m. |
| Dec 4–20 | Oh, What Fun! Fridays through Sundays | Generally 5–10 p.m., free entry |
| Dec 26 | Art Aftr Dark | 6–10 p.m., free |
Art Aftr Dark runs every other weekend. The Lake Nona event page describes Orlando Local Makers taking over Town Center on Friday and Saturday evenings, and the dates listed come in alternating pairs: October 30 and 31, November 13 and 14, November 27 and 28, December 11 and 12, and then December 26 by itself. So if you skip a weekend of handmade goods and food, the next chance is two weeks away, not one.
Two other things stand out in that table. The Veterans Day Parade on November 7 is the City of Orlando's 27th annual, and Lake Nona Town Center hosts it. Then on Thanksgiving weekend, the Small Business Saturday Market, with more than 40 local makers, artisans and small businesses, overlaps an Art Aftr Dark night on November 28. That makes it the busiest single non-festival evening on the calendar.
The two paid pieces, and why to book them early
The festival itself costs nothing to enter. General admission is public and unticketed, and food and drink are sold on site. Two pieces are paid, and both reward getting in early.
- The Oh, What Fun! Run 5K, Saturday, December 5, at 7:30 a.m. The RunSignup registration page lists $39 and says the price goes up after 11:59 p.m. on October 30, 2026. Check-in opens at 6 a.m., and every finisher gets a medal and a T-shirt, with awards in five-year age groups. For anyone reading this on publication day, that leaves about two days at the current price.
- Santa's Cottage. You have to book ahead, and every person in the group needs their own ticket, adults and children alike. The festival FAQ lists 5:45, 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 p.m. on Fridays, plus 1, 2, 3 and 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays on top of those four evening times. Across three Fridays and six weekend days, that comes to 60 sessions for the whole festival. The ticket covers storytime, a sing-along with Santa and Mrs. Claus, and digital photo proofs. It is also the only way to get a photo with Santa at Oh, What Fun!
The 5K's history is muddled. RunSignup calls this the "3rd Annual" run, while the festival's own calendar calls the 2026 race "inaugural." Both agree on Saturday, December 5, with a 7:30 a.m. start, and that's what you need to sign up.
Friday, Saturday and Sunday are three different festivals
Some things happen every festival night: Santa's Cottage, the rotating-vendor Holiday Market, the Evergreen Tree Trail decorated by partners, the photo spots and the food. Everything else depends on the night of the week, and the Santa price does too.
Fridays, December 4, 11 and 18. Opening night is Friday, December 4, when the 24-foot tree is lit at 6 p.m. Live bands play the Lake Nona Town Center Stage on all three Fridays. On the same three nights, Boxi Park runs its Holiday Blockbuster series: How the Grinch Stole Christmas on December 4, Home Alone on December 11 and Elf on December 18. Each one starts with themed activities at 6 p.m., and the movie begins at 6:30. Santa's Cottage costs $40 a person and only has evening sessions.
Saturdays, December 5, 12 and 19. The bands come back to the main stage. On all three Saturdays, A Very Peppermint Christmas puts on snow-themed entertainment from 5 to 10 p.m. It also runs the three Fridays, which makes six evenings in all. The festival calls its snowfall "Lake Snow-na," and the FAQ gives two schedules for it. One line says it falls every hour from 5 p.m., Friday through Sunday. The other says it falls on Saturdays starting at 5 p.m., once an hour. Saturday is the only night both lines include. Santa's Cottage is $45 a person on Saturdays, the highest price of the week. A family of four pays $180 on a Saturday and $160 on a Friday or Sunday.
Two Saturdays have something extra. December 5 opens with the 5K in the morning. On December 12, Art Aftr Dark is back at Town Center, and the Crescent Park Celebration in Laureate Park runs from 6 to 9 p.m. as a block party with holiday activities, live music and decorated golf carts.
Sundays, December 6, 13 and 20. These are Family Fun Days. There are activities through the evening, and local school groups perform from 6 to 9 p.m. On December 6, the Hanukkah Celebration of Lights also runs from 6 to 9 p.m. Santa's Cottage is back to $40 a person, with the same afternoon sessions Saturday has.
What the tenth year dropped, and what it added
The festival's basic format hasn't changed in years. Nonahood News' listing for the 2024 edition shows it running Fridays through Sundays, December 6 to 22, and the festival's own 2024 listings describe hourly snowfall, the 24-foot tree and the Evergreen Tree Trail. The details changed more.
- Skating is gone. A 2023 event listing advertised an open-air iceless skating rink. The current FAQ says the festival "no longer" offers it.
- The parade and the acrobatics aren't on the 2026 list. Lake Nona's 2025 insider's guide scheduled a parade for Saturday, December 13, plus acrobatic shows on Fridays and Saturdays. The special events listed for 2026 are opening night, the 5K, the Hanukkah celebration and the Crescent Park Celebration. The Boxi Park movie nights are new on the Friday calendar.
- There's one more Family Fun Day. The 2025 guide listed two, on December 7 and 14. This year has three, because the run ends on Sunday, December 20.
- The lowest Santa price went up. In 2025, Santa's Cottage tickets started at $35. The 2026 FAQ still shows $35 for Wednesdays and Thursdays, but the festival doesn't run on those nights this year. On the nights it does run, the lowest price is $40.
So the tenth year has fewer one-off spectacles. Most of its draws now repeat every weekend, like the movies, the bands and the Sunday performances, and the night of the week decides which ones you get.
Getting there, and the errands in between
Parking is free in the Town Center garages. The festival's directions page sends drivers to the Code Wall and DNA garages by way of Veterans Way. If you live in Laureate Park, you can skip the garage and take the Beep shuttle from Village Center. The home page also mentions Bird bikes and scooters from there.
This is also the first holiday season with Lake Nona West open at 5959 Lake Nona Blvd. Target, Homesense, Barnes & Noble and Total Wine & More were open by late July. Nordstrom Rack at 6015 Lake Nona Blvd. had September 24 as its opening date and now appears on Nordstrom Rack's list of open stores. Several other announced tenants, including Sephora, Kilwins, Drybar and DICK'S Sporting Goods, don't have published opening dates yet. Cañonita has been reported only as coming in late 2026. For this December, that means gift shopping and a festival night can happen on the same stretch of Lake Nona Boulevard. Until October 31, the City of Orlando also lists roadwork lane closures at Lake Nona Boulevard and James Bay Drive.
Being close to Town Center is part of what a Lake Nona address offers, and it's clearest in December, when a Beep stop or a short cart ride separates a Saturday night under the snow from a hunt for a garage space. If you're thinking about which parts of Lake Nona put that calendar within easy reach, the team at Nick & Gordy Real Estate Advisory can walk you through the Lake Nona neighborhoods street by street. Schedule a Consultation, and we'll start with the parts of town you already know.
