Meet Boston has unveiled the inaugural Boston Frostival, a season-long lineup of new events and returning favorites designed to transform the city into a full-blown winter destination from late November through February. There will be drone shows over Boston Common, a Ferris wheel spinning above the Greenway, a new winter activation in Copley Square and even a women-led wine festival. If winter has ever tempted you to go into hibernation mode, Boston Frostival might be the cure.
Kicking off on November 29 and running every Saturday through December 20, illuminated drone shows will take over the skies above Boston Common with two productions each night. They’ll launch from the corner of Boylston and Charles Streets, turning the entire park into a viewing platform. It’s the kind of spectacle major cities roll out for New Year’s Eve or Fourth of July, not the calm stretch between Thanksgiving and Christmas—which is exactly the point. Meet Boston wants more people bundling up, sticking around and spending the evening out. Hotels are already prepping winter packages tied to the events.
February ramps things up even more. From February 6 to 28, 2026, Copley Square becomes an immersive winter hub inspired by the Winter Games in Milan, turning the Back Bay landmark into a seasonal playground.
Meanwhile, over on the Rose Kennedy Greenway, plans are under way for a month-long Ferris wheel that will offer panoramic views of downtown, the waterfront and the harbor.
The month closes with one of the most exciting new additions: Femme Fête Wine Festival on February 28, 2026, at the Cyclorama. The tasting event puts women winemakers and women-owned wineries front and center, bringing in talent from around the world for an evening of sampling, storytelling and general revelry in one of Boston’s most atmospheric spaces. Expect it to be one of the hottest tickets of the season.
Frostival also folds in many of Boston’s existing winter favorites, including Snowport, the SoWa Winter Festival and Winteractive, packaging them together as part of a larger push to draw visitors during months traditionally quieter for tourism.
As Meet Boston President and CEO Martha J. Sheridan put it in an official statement: "Winter in Boston has always been magical, and now we have more programming to entice visitors to come see for themselves. We've spent years researching the types of winter events that compel people to travel and stay overnight, developing experiences that are authentic to our destination. Boston Frostival represents our commitment to redefining the city's winter appeal—not just during the holidays, but throughout the entire season."
All that’s left is to get your puffy jacket ready. This year, Boston isn’t just surviving winter, but making it a full-blown event.