Things to Do in Ithaca This Fall and Winter: Markets and Skating
When does the Ithaca Farmers Market close for the year? Most people will say late October, because that's when the market starts shrinking. In 2026 the last outdoor Saturday at Steamboat Landing is December 19, seven weeks after Halloween. It ends with the 29th Annual International Rutabaga Curl.
The season doesn't end all at once. Over the next ten weeks the city's weekend calendar narrows in steps. Market days drop away, the hours get shorter, the ice rink fills the afternoons, and the busiest public events pile onto two Saturdays in December. Once you know the order, you'll have a better idea of where to be on any given weekend between now and January.
The Pavilion at 545 Third St. has kept a long schedule since spring. Saturdays have run 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. since April 4. Sundays have run 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. since May 3. Here's how that winds down over the next three weeks:
| Date | What changes |
|---|---|
| Sunday, October 25 | Last regular Sunday Pavilion market |
| Wednesday, October 28 | Last East Hill market at 330 Pine Tree Rd., 3 to 6 p.m. |
| Saturday, October 31 | Last six-hour Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. |
| Sunday, November 1 | A one-off Sunday market, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| November and December Saturdays | Pavilion hours drop to 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
That makes November 1 a bonus day you can easily miss. It falls after the regular Sunday season has ended and runs on the shorter winter hours.
The weekday options are going away too. After October 28, the market has no weekday locations left. The Tuesday downtown market is listed as permanently closed, and the market's site sends shoppers to its other days. So after the November 1 Sunday, the market means Saturdays only. That's one day a week, down from three, and the hours drop from six to four.
On October 14, Cass Park Rink opens its 2026–27 season. That's more than two weeks before the market's hours change. The first Saturday public session starts at 2:30 p.m. Through October 31 that overlaps the market's last half hour. From November on, it starts half an hour after the winter Pavilion hours end at 2.
Here's the full weekly public skate schedule as posted:
Each public session is capped at 120 skaters, and the rink recommends pre-registering, which opens up to four days ahead. Walk-in spots exist only if a session hasn't been fully reserved online, and they're released only after the session has begun. For a Saturday evening session, registration opens on Tuesday.
Admission depends on where you live. City and Town of Ithaca residents pay $5.25 per adult session, and skaters from other areas pay $6.25. Children 6 to 12 pay $3.25 or $4.25. Infants under 2 skate free if they live in the City or Town. Seniors 60 and over pay $4.25 or $5.25. Skate rental is $3.75 a pair. Sharpening costs $8, or $9 for new or rusty blades. A family that already owns skates will pay noticeably less over a winter than one renting every time.
The posted schedule has a few gaps. There are no public sessions on Friday, December 4. The Friday 7:45 p.m. session is also off on January 8, January 15 and February 5.
The Downtown Halloween Celebration is Friday, October 30, from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Trick-or-treating runs along East State and Cayuga streets, according to the Ithaca Times 2026–27 festival guide. The next morning is the market's last 9-to-3 Saturday. That gives downtown and the waterfront two busy days in a row as October ends.
There's also a new place to eat near the trick-or-treat route this year. Burger 'n' Bar opened inside The Hotel Ithaca at 222 South Cayuga Street, according to a Downtown Ithaca Alliance announcement published September 30. It serves dinner Monday through Saturday from 4 to 10 p.m., so it opens right when the Halloween event starts. Breakfast runs daily from 6:30 to 11 a.m. Breakfast at 6:30 a.m. on a Sunday is useful on winter weekends, when most of the Commons is quiet early.
By early December, the market is open four hours a week and the rink runs on a reservation system. Then several of downtown's biggest seasonal events land on the same day. On Saturday, December 5, the City of Ithaca's event calendar and a Visit Ithaca listing show this run of events:
From Stewart Park to Steamboat Landing to the Commons, December 5 covers most of the city's public spaces in one day. The rink has no public sessions the night before. The CookieWalk's "until sold out" means an early arrival matters more than the posted 3 p.m. end time.
Check the date before you plan. The Downtown Ithaca Alliance's Winter Holiday Bash page still shows last year's December 6 date. The City's 2026 listing gives December 5.
Two weeks later, the outdoor season ends at the Pavilion with the Rutabaga Curl. The market describes December 19 as "the last Saturday outdoor market of the year." The 29th Annual International Rutabaga Curl takes place there that day.
Here's how it works. Registration is on site from 10 to 11:30 a.m. For $5 you get a rutabaga or turnip, and for $10 you get a rutabaga and a bag. The market says there's "ample time to practice throwing and to alter your rutabaga to your own specifications." The Curl is for ages 8 and up. Younger children can enter a turnip toss. The approximate program starts at noon with a parade. The turnip toss follows at 12:20 p.m., curling rounds begin at 12:30, and awards come around 1:50 to 2 p.m. That's right when the market's winter hours end.
The market's page promises "MCs, referees, protestors, a chorus, instrumentalists, camera/radio crews and more rutabaga lore than you ever knew existed." The Ithaca Voice's 2024 coverage called that year's contest the 27th annual and described it as a community tradition. Each player curls a rutabaga down an alley while spectators cheer or jeer. The market credits the tradition to "a group of vendors brimming with wit and whimsy." Its page links out to a fuller origin story instead of telling it in full.
After December 19, the market skips exactly one Saturday, December 26. On Saturday, January 2, 2027, the Winter Market opens at Triphammer Marketplace, 2255 N. Triphammer Rd. It runs Saturdays through March 28, from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. That's three and a half hours a week, down from six hours on Saturdays and five on Sundays this past summer.
Triphammer Marketplace isn't a new location. The 2026 season was the market's eighth winter there. Last winter's vendors were split between two atriums, one outside the Reuse Center and one near the Ithaca Bakery. The market recommended parking near the ReUse entrance and walking through both sides.
Looking further ahead, the Greater Ithaca Activities Center has proposed a teen-run neighborhood cafe at 402–404 West Court St. to replace the Red & White Cafe. It would also include culinary training and community space. The Ithaca Voice reported in August that the $3 million, three-story project still needs approvals, with construction tentatively planned for sometime between February and December 2027. It won't affect this winter's calendar.
Seen together, the next ten weeks narrow from three market days a week to one. That one shrinks from six hours to four, then to a Triphammer Saturday that ends at 2. Meanwhile, the Cass Park Rink fills the afternoons from October 14, December 5 brings Stewart Park, the Commons and Center Ithaca into one Saturday, and December 19 closes the Pavilion at about the time the last rutabaga is thrown.
Brian has spent decades watching Ithaca's seasons change how the city actually lives. If you're thinking about where in the area you'll want to be when the market moves to Triphammer and the rink is booked four days out, Brian DeYoung is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.
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