The Great Neck Park District is turning one of its parks into a holiday weekend. Lights & Ice, a two-day event at Jonathan L. Ielpi Firefighters Park, runs Saturday, December 5, and Sunday, December 6, with outdoor skating under string lights, private igloos, fire pits, pictures with Santa and live music.

The district has posted the lineup now, ahead of the schedule, so families can hold the weekend while the reservation details are finalized.

What is planned

The park district lists these pieces of the weekend:

  • Outdoor ice skating on a rink lined with holiday lights.
  • Private igloos surrounded by lights, reserved in advance.
  • Fire pits, also reserved in advance.
  • Pictures with Santa.
  • Live holiday music.
  • Holiday Lights Trolley tours that loop around town.
  • Live ice sculpting.
  • Inflatables for younger kids.
  • A Snow Bubble Bus experience.

Reservations and pricing

Three parts of the weekend carry a fee: the igloos, the fire pits and skating. The district says igloos and fire pits will need reservations, and that skating reservations, availability and pricing will be announced soon, along with the full event schedule and entertainment times. Anyone hoping to book an igloo for a family group should watch the event page, since a reservation-only space at a two-day event is the kind of thing that fills early.

The page does not yet say whether the event is limited to Great Neck Park District residents, which matters for anyone coming from outside the district. The district office can answer that at (516) 487-4673.

Skating before December

Families who want to get skates back on before Lights & Ice have options at the district's ice rink. On Friday nights the district runs Parkwood After Dark from 8 to 9:30 p.m., a themed skating party. Soundclash, a pop-music skate night built around two pop stars, is on Friday, November 13, and Glow Night follows on Friday, November 20. Public skating sessions are on the rink schedule as well, including one from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 7, and the district's Skate School offers lessons.

Plan ahead

The district's 2026-27 fall and winter catalog, posted on its site, lists the rest of the season's programs, including pool and tennis center offerings. Registration for district programs runs through its online registration portal.

Going

Lights & Ice is Saturday, December 5, and Sunday, December 6, 2026, at Jonathan L. Ielpi Firefighters Park in Great Neck. Times, prices and reservation links for skating, igloos and fire pits are to be posted on the Great Neck Park District's Lights & Ice page. Questions go to the district at (516) 487-4673 or [email protected]; the district office is at 65 Arrandale Avenue.

Sources