Last December, Selfies with Santa at South Riding Center ran on two days. One session ran Saturday, Dec. 13, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and a second ran Sunday, Dec. 14, from 1 to 8:30 p.m. This year the South Riding Proprietary's calendar lists Santa on three consecutive days, Friday, Dec. 11, through Sunday, Dec. 13. The Winterfest Market & Ice Rink falls on Saturday, Dec. 12, right in the middle.
That puts the busiest part of the season into one weekend at one address, South Riding Center at 42420 Unicorn Drive, where almost every November and December event on the Proprietary's 2026 calendar takes place. For a South Riding household, the weekend of Dec. 11 to 13 matters more than any other on the holiday calendar.
The same budget now carries a broader label
The 2025 Recreation & Events budget carried a line called "Selfies with Santa" at $7,000. The approved 2026 budget carries "Winter Holiday Festivities," also at $7,000. The "Holiday Lighting" line is $5,000 in both years.
On the 2026 calendar, the light display, the market, the rink and an indoor movie all appear under the Winterfest name on the Proprietary's events page, and Santa's three days sit right alongside them.
Santa visits themselves go back years. The Proprietary's archive has galleries for both 2024 and 2025. The difference this year is the added Friday evening, a weeknight option the 2025 schedule didn't have.
November stays indoors, and most events need a ticket
Before Winterfest begins, the Proprietary runs three small evening events inside South Riding Center. Each one has a price or a registration step, so they work more like reservations than drop-ins.
- Ugly Sweater Bingo Night, Thursday, Nov. 5, 7 to 9 p.m. Bingo books start at $10.
- Jazz by Candlelight, Friday, Nov. 20, 7 p.m., with the Sweet Something Jazz Quartet. Tickets are $15 and registration is required.
- Flower Arrangement Night, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 6 to 7:30 p.m. The $55 fee covers flowers, a vase and hands-on instruction.
Flower Arrangement Night falls two days before Thanksgiving, so an arrangement made that Tuesday is ready for Thursday's table. Jazz by Candlelight is the only November event that explicitly requires registration, which makes it the one to put on the calendar before Nov. 20 gets close.
December moves outside under one name
On Dec. 1, the season moves outdoors to the SRC Stage at the corner of Ulysses Street and Riding Center Drive. The Enchanted Light Stroll runs the entire month there. The Proprietary describes thousands of lights and festive displays across the park. The other December events happen with the lights already up.
| Date | Event | Time | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec. 1–31 | Winterfest Enchanted Light Stroll | All month | SRC Stage, Ulysses St. and Riding Center Dr. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Jingle Dash | Fun Run 8 a.m.; 5K and 10K right after | Register through RunSignup |
| Fri., Dec. 11 | Selfies with Santa | 4–9 p.m. | First come, first served; holiday craft workshop |
| Sat., Dec. 12 | Winterfest Market & Ice Rink | 11 a.m.–7 p.m. | Outdoor rink, holiday train, artisan and food vendors |
| Sat., Dec. 12, and Sun., Dec. 13 | Selfies with Santa | See event listing | Second and third Santa dates |
| Fri., Dec. 18 | Winterfest Indoor Movie Night: Wicked | 7–10 p.m. | Food available for purchase |
The Jingle Dash is the first scheduled event after the lights go up. It runs Saturday, Dec. 5, the same first-weekend-of-December slot it held in 2025, when it ran Dec. 6. The Fun Run starts at 8 a.m., and the 5K and 10K start right after it. Finishers get a medal, then hot chocolate or coffee and an awards ceremony. The Proprietary encourages costumes and ugly sweaters. Registration is on RunSignup.
The movie night on Dec. 18 closes the scheduled calendar. It moves back indoors to South Riding Center, one week before Christmas.
How the Dec. 11–13 weekend runs
With Santa on all three days and the market on Saturday, the order runs like this:
- Friday, 4 to 9 p.m. Selfies with Santa opens at South Riding Center, with a holiday craft workshop on site. It's first come, first served.
- Friday, after dark. The Enchanted Light Stroll is already running at the SRC Stage, at the same center as the Santa line.
- Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Winter Market & Ice Rink runs with an outdoor ice rink, a holiday train, artisan vendors and food vendors. Santa is listed at South Riding Center the same day.
- Sunday. Santa's third 2026 date, also at South Riding Center.
The Friday listing carries the 4 to 9 p.m. hours. For the Saturday and Sunday Santa times, check the Proprietary's events page.
The market page names the participating artisans: The Gilded Thread, Nstyle Essentials, Rock Hill Honey Bee Farms, The Quiet Earth and The Yarn Arts. The Cheesy Griddle and Travelin' Tom's Coffee Truck are listed as food vendors. The vendor sign-up link is still on the page, so the roster may grow before Dec. 12.
For a sit-down meal that weekend, Dum & Grill Indian Fusion Food is one of the newest options nearby. According to The Burn, it opened Oct. 8 at 25150 Loudoun County Parkway, Unit 175, a few blocks south of Route 50.
Before you put skates in the car
The Market & Ice Rink page lists the market's overall hours. It doesn't list separate rink hours, an admission or skate fee, or skate registration. Check the event page closer to Dec. 12 for those details.
Every event page carries the same warning that schedules can change. The Proprietary posts last-minute updates on its Facebook and Twitter accounts and in the South Riding Proprietary app for iPhone and Android. The Proprietary also warns about scammers posing as staff on social media. It says it will never ask residents to send a private message to get tickets, and all event purchases should go through southriding.net.
Residents who want to help can still sign up through the Proprietary's 2026 volunteer form, and Winterfest has its own volunteer form.
The Bill Davis Team follows community calendars like South Riding's across Loudoun because they shape how a neighborhood feels from week to week. If a move is on your 2027 calendar and you want to know what your home is worth after the holidays, Request Your Free Home Value Report and we'll prepare one with South Riding's recent sales in mind.
