The 12th season of Winterfest Hartford opened on Friday, November 25, 2022. The rink was open for 45 days of free skating, bringing 41,835 ice skaters into the Capital City and giving free skating lessons to 275 kids of all ages. This year the rink was open for 313 hours and created 43 jobs, with 50% filled by Hartford residents. There were 8,364 rides taken on the carousel, and 625 families came to take photos with Santa at the Pump House. Santa’s Workshop was open on four dates, bringing families from 71 zip codes in just 12 hours. These five cities/towns brought the most families to see Santa: Hartford, West Hartford, Manchester, New Britain, and Glastonbury.

We hung more than 12,000 lights that brightened the park and kept over 500 pairs of skates in circulation this season. In addition to free ice skating, we had performances from the Night Fall Hartford puppets, Hartford “Cold” Several, area artists, and 21 violin players. We hosted World AIDS day, 15 school skating days, and brought the mini-train back for a day of free rides, and on weekends we had giant games in the courtyard. We also helped First Night Hartford bring in the new year with free ice skating available until the weather turned to rain.