Winter Wonder Set to Revive Williams Park This Winter

This November, Williams Park, downtown St. Petersburg's oldest public space, will become home to Winter Wonder, a six-week holiday experience featuring an open-air ice skating rink, a holiday market, food and beverage offerings, live entertainment, and family activities. But according to Shaun Drinkard, CEO of the St. Petersburg Downtown Improvement District, Winter Wonder is about more than the holidays; it's a live experiment shaping the future of the park itself.

The project follows years of gradual change at Williams Park. PSTA relocated its buses out of the park in 2016, ending an era when idling buses effectively walled off the space, and the city began working toward renovating the park's bandshell back in 2018. That renovation is expected to wrap up in early November, just ahead of Winter Wonder's November 20th opening. The holiday attraction will run through January 3, 2027, and separately, organizers have secured $800,000 in state appropriations for additional park improvements set to begin once Winter Wonder wraps.

Winter Wonder's layout divides the park into distinct zones: an ice rink to the north, a central plaza, a holiday market with local businesses along the perimeter, and a food and beverage commons to the south. The approach draws on the work of Dan Biederman, known for his role in revitalizing New York City's Bryant Park, whose philosophy centers on breaking large public spaces into smaller "rooms" that each give people a reason to stop and gather. After visiting Williams Park, Biederman told Drinkard, "This park has great bones. You don't need millions to recreate this park."

Drinkard is especially focused on the park's southern end, home to a fountain and veterans memorial, envisioning it eventually becoming an active urban plaza with year-round food, beverage, and event programming. Winter Wonder will give planners a temporary preview of what that environment could look like, informing the permanent improvements planned for early 2027.

Drinkard also noted that Williams Park has long served as a gathering place for members of the city's unhoused community, and said revitalizing the park isn't intended to displace anyone.

Looking ahead, planned upgrades like improved electrical capacity could make it easier for existing events such as Localtopia, Paddy Fest, and the Saturday Morning Market to operate in the park. The newly renovated bandshell may also open the door to new programming, Drinkard said The Florida Orchestra has expressed interest in using the venue