Why Edmond's Winter Weekends Run Through Mitch Park Starting November 7

Where does Edmond spend its Saturday mornings once the farmers market leaves Festival Market Place? Starting this Saturday, November 7, the answer is Mitch Park, along with the ice rink, the light walk and most of the season's other recurring events.

The farmers market's outdoor season at 26 W. 1st St. ended on Saturday, October 31. The Edmond Ice Rink opens this Saturday at Mitch Park, on the same day the market reopens indoors a short walk away. Edmond's weekends usually run through Broadway and Second Street. From now until spring, they run through the park on Covell Road.

Two openings on the same Saturday

The City of Edmond's 2026 market rules set the Indoor Winter Market in the Senior Center at Mitch Park, 2733 Marilyn Williams Drive. It runs Saturdays from November 7 through March 20, 2027. The hours are shorter than the outdoor season. The downtown market ran from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the indoor market runs from 9 a.m. to noon. The City also expects closures around the holidays, so check before driving over late in December.

The address will be familiar to anyone who used the market's summer Wednesday session. That market met from June 3 through September 30 in front of the Edmond Parks and Recreation Administration Building, which shares the 2733 Marilyn Williams Drive address. The winter market doesn't move to a new venue. It moves the Saturday crowd to a spot the midweek market already used.

The ice rink opens the same morning and stays open through January 31, 2027. Its ticket page calls this the 16th season. The rink sits next to the silo inside Mitch Park.

The rink tried the park first

The rink didn't start at Mitch Park. It opened at Festival Market Place downtown in 2011, the same lot the farmers market just left, and moved to Mitch Park in 2015, according to The Edmond Sun's account of the move. The Sun reported that the city's Parks and Recreation Department suggested the move to Dmitri Logoutine, owner of Ice Challenge Enterprises, because of the park's open space.

The first season in the park went well. City Manager Larry Stevens told the City Council that paid attendance was "up basically 30 percent from last year to almost 8,000 people," The Edmond Sun reported. That season also gave about 600 tickets to nonprofit organizations and collected more than 600 food and toy items for HOPE Center and No Boundaries International.

The season itself has grown since then. In the early years, the Sun noted, skating ran from Thanksgiving to the first weekend in January. This year the rink opens almost three weeks before Thanksgiving and stays open through the end of January, about 12 weeks of skating. Ice Challenge Enterprises still runs it, and its sponsor list includes the City of Edmond, Citizens Bank, the YMCA, UCO, Francis Tuttle, BancFirst, TTCU, Tinker Federal Credit Union and Visit Edmond.

Then the city built Luminance next to it

With the rink settled in the park, the city added a second winter attraction across the parking lot. According to the Luminance history page, a 2017 City Council workshop produced the idea, and the walk opened in 2018 with 20 displays. By 2019 it had drawn more than 35,000 visitors. That is more than four times the paid attendance the rink reported for its first Mitch Park season. The walk grew to 35 displays in 2020, and Merry Marketplace and food trucks first appeared in 2021.

This year Luminance: An Enchanted Stroll opens Friday, November 20, and runs nightly from 5 to 10 p.m. through January 1. Visit Edmond's announcement describes more than 40 large-scale displays near the baseball fields on the east side of the YMCA. Edmond Parks and Recreation presents the event, and Edmond Electric powers it. The same announcement points visitors to the ice rink "just across the parking lot."

The walk is free and about a quarter mile long, following the Mitch Park trails. Leashed dogs are welcome, and parking is free. Because the displays line the trail system, they're ADA accessible. Cars can't drive through. Two evenings have extra programming:

• Kickoff Night: Friday, November 20, 4 to 8 p.m.
• Community Event Night: Saturday, December 12, 4 to 8 p.m.

The Luminance site says there are no concessions at the walk. Visitors can bring their own hot chocolate or coffee, and the ice rink has a small concession stand.

The season, sorted by address

Visit Edmond groups the holiday calendar as Miracle on 2nd Street, November 7 through January 1. Sorted by location, the list shows downtown hosting single-day events while Mitch Park holds the attractions that run all season.

Deck the Downtown brings Santa and Mrs. Claus, live reindeer and carriage rides to downtown on November 12, and Small Business Saturday on November 28 adds free horse-drawn carriage rides and a visit from the Grinch. On an ordinary Tuesday evening in December, though, nothing on the calendar is open downtown, while the rink and Luminance are both open on Covell Road.

Before you go skating

The rink's FAQ lists these prices and hours for the 2026 to 2027 season:

• Admission: $15 general, $13 with military ID, $10 if you bring your own skates, $10 for children 5 and under
• Weekday hours: Monday through Thursday 3 to 9 p.m., Friday 3 to 10 p.m.
• Weekend hours: Saturday noon to 10 p.m., Sunday noon to 9 p.m.
• Thanksgiving Break, Nov. 22 to 28: noon to 10 p.m. daily
• Winter Break, Dec. 20 to Jan. 2: noon to 10 p.m. daily, except Christmas Eve
• Christmas Eve: noon to 5 p.m., an early close inside Winter Break
• Rental skates: toddler size 7 through adult size 13, subject to availability

The rink sells general admission tickets on-site. Season passes and gift certificates are sold online, and both include skate rental. Gift certificates cover one session and don't carry over to next season. All sales are final, and the rink doesn't refund skating admission, so check that your size is available before you buy. Group rates start at 10 skaters, and the rink asks groups to email [email protected]. The ice is real frozen water.

The weekday hours open at 3 p.m., and Luminance turns on at 5 p.m., so skating before dark and walking the lights after is one evening plan. Both are in the same park, and parking is free.

The next addition to Edmond's park calendar

Uncommon Ground, a 62-acre sculpture park, is the next big public space in Edmond's plans. It won't open this winter. A City of Edmond release from October 20 says the park is expected to open in 2027. The same release says Edmond's public art collection, which started with 13 pieces in 2001, now includes 377 pieces, among them 281 sculptures and 63 murals.

At Access Real Estate, the Hefner Team keeps track of how Edmond's calendar shifts with the seasons. If you're planning a winter move and want to know which parts of town are close to Mitch Park, downtown or both, we're glad to walk you through it. Work With Us.