Most people know the red barn at New Riverside from the line of cars waiting for the traffic circle. The Island Packet described it this way when the Town of Bluffton finished expanding it last winter. This December, the barn gets a much bigger job. From Dec. 11 to 20, the lawn beside it holds the Town's first free outdoor ice rink. Santa, a holiday craft fair and a Nutcracker tea are scheduled there during the same ten days.
For Hampton Hall households, this changes how Bluffton's December is laid out. The first weekend of December brings Bluffton's traditional holiday celebrations to Old Town. The following week, the festivities continue at New Riverside Barn Park, where the Town's first free outdoor ice rink will be open Dec. 11–20, with nearby dining options at Parkside Commons.
Old Town Opens the Season, Then New Riverside Takes Over
In his Oct. 4 column in Bluffton Today, Mayor Larry Toomer laid out the Town's calendar for the rest of 2026. The familiar traditions stay where they have always been. The Christmas Tree Lighting is Friday, Dec. 4, at 5:30 p.m. at Martin Family Park, and the Bluffton Christmas Parade steps off Saturday, Dec. 5, at 10 a.m.
The following Friday, the calendar moves to New Riverside. According to the column, the ice rink is the first time the Town has brought a free outdoor skating event there. Nearly everything the Town has planned for the middle of December is grouped around it. Of the Town events scheduled between Dec. 11 and Dec. 20, only Santa at the Welcome Center on Dec. 17 takes place somewhere else.
The Town bought the 37-acre parcel in 2018 and built it up over several years into a park with trails, meeting space and a large playground. The Island Packet reported in February that the finished barn has 2,664 square feet of event space, a 518-square-foot caterer's kitchen and seating for 120 guests. Lyndee Simoneaux, the Town's director of events and venues, told the paper that 67 reservations for the year were confirmed as of Jan. 20. A Christmas market was already on the list of Town events planned for the building. The Holiday Craft Fair on Dec. 13 is that plan arriving on the calendar.
The Rink, Session by Session
The rink is free, and the hours are different every day. Two weekday sessions run in the morning and close by mid-afternoon. Every other session either runs into the evening or covers a weekend afternoon.
Date | Rink hours | Also happening |
|---|---|---|
Fri., Dec. 11 | 4–10 p.m. | DJ "T-Bone" Taylor; Santa in the barn, 4–7 p.m. |
Sat., Dec. 12 | 4–10 p.m. | DJ "T-Bone" Taylor |
Sun., Dec. 13 | 11 a.m.–5 p.m. | Holiday Craft Fair on the New Riverside Event Lawn |
Mon., Dec. 14 | 9 a.m.–3 p.m. | |
Tue., Dec. 15 | 4–10 p.m. | |
Wed., Dec. 16 | 9 a.m.–3 p.m. | |
Thu., Dec. 17 | 4–10 p.m. | |
Fri., Dec. 18 | 4–10 p.m. | DJ "T-Bone" Taylor |
Sat., Dec. 19 | 4–10 p.m. | The Nutcracker performance and a DJ; Afternoon Tea with the Sugar Plum Fairy |
Sun., Dec. 20 | 11 a.m.–5 p.m. | Closing day |
The schedule falls into a few patterns.
- The DJ nights are the two opening evenings and the second Friday, Dec. 11, 12 and 18.
- Santa visits New Riverside Barn on opening night, Dec. 11, from 4 to 7 p.m. The Town asks families to bring their own cameras for photos.
- The craft fair on Sunday, Dec. 13, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., sets local artists, craftspeople and hobbyists up around the rink. The Town has said more details will come through its social media channels.
- The Nutcracker day is Saturday, Dec. 19. The Okatie Youth Ballet presents excerpts from The Nutcracker, followed by tea with the Sugar Plum Fairy inside the barn. The rink stays open until 10 p.m. that night, so the ballet afternoon and an evening skate fit into the same day.
The Town has not yet published skate rental, parking or check-in details. Those are worth checking on its channels before the first session.
Dinner on Parkside Commons
Since late 2025, the storefronts on Parkside Commons, the Compass Commons section of New Riverside, have added a poke shop, a wood-fired pizza restaurant and now an Italian dining room. A night at the rink can begin or end with dinner nearby.
Cafe Al Dente, at 303 Parkside Commons, Suite 103, is the newest. The scratch-made Italian restaurant soft-opened on Oct. 1. Eat It and Like It reported that Damien and Yakshi Carlino started the restaurant in Oyster Bay, New York, before opening at Coligny Plaza on Hilton Head in February 2024. The New Riverside location is their first in Bluffton. It opened as BYOB while waiting for final approval of its liquor license. A public notice for an on-premises beer, wine and liquor license ran on Oct. 4, so it is worth asking whether it is still BYOB when you book. The restaurant's website lists New Riverside hours of 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday and on Sunday, and 4 to 9:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. No Monday hours are listed, and reservations go through Resy.
Those hours line up with the rink schedule. On the 4-to-10 p.m. rink nights, the kitchen closes before the rink does, so dinner works best first, with skating afterward. The only Monday in the run, Dec. 14, is a 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. rink day anyway.
Cafe Al Dente joined an established row of neighbors:
- Local Pie, the wood-fired pizza restaurant at 135 Parkside Commons, opened its New Riverside location in April 2026.
- Frosty Frog Cafe, known for its frozen daiquiris, is open at 147 Parkside Commons, and its site takes online orders.
- Nom Nom Poke Shop, at 267 Parkside Commons, Suite 102, has served made-to-order bowls with tuna, salmon, shrimp and chicken since late 2025, as reported by the Island Packet.
- Bluffton Ice Cream was among the Compass Commons businesses the Island Packet listed as open in January.
The same January report counted two errand stops in the group, Burke's Pharmacy and Pet Wants. Pet Wants sells small-batch pet food and treats in the same building as Cafe Al Dente, at 303 Parkside Commons, Suite 101. STMT Boutique, which sells women's apparel and accessories, is in Suite 102. On craft fair Sunday, one trip could cover gifts at the fair and a stop at a boutique on Parkside Commons.
Before December, Two Smaller Dates
Two Town dates come before the rink. On Thursday, Oct. 29, from 2:30 to 3 p.m., the Beaufort County Book Mobile stops at the New Riverside Barn Park playground. It is a half-hour stop for anyone with grandchildren visiting this week.
The other is the year's last outdoor concert. The Town's Concert in the Park returns on Friday, Nov. 13, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Buckwalter Place Park Amphitheater, with Groove Town Assault performing. The Town lists it as the third and final Concert in the Park of 2026. Bring a chair or blanket. After that, the Town's calendar moves into December, to Martin Family Park for the first weekend and then to the barn at New Riverside for ten days.
If you are looking to learn more about Hampton Hall and the rest of Bluffton, the team at Herman and Davis would be glad to hear from you. Call us today at 843-686-9512!
