The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts has a plan to make downtown Orlando extra merry and bright during this year’s holiday season with a new free outdoor festival featuring seasonal movies, live entertainment, snow and Santa himself.
The inaugural “Frontyard Holiday Festival at Dr. Phillips Center supported by AdventHealth,” to give the event’s full name, will run Dec. 4 through Jan. 4, 2026. The arts center’s three-acre lawn, including Seneff Arts Plaza, will host more than 80 performances, light displays, fire pits and family-friendly activities. In addition, expect a nightly tree-lighting and snowfall, Florida-style.
“This festival represents the next chapter of our mission — to create a place where everyone in our community loves to be,” said Kathy Ramsberger, president and CEO of the Dr. Phillips Center, in the festival announcement. “Transforming Seneff Arts Plaza into a holiday destination fulfills a long-held vision of creativity, joy and the power of community.”
The Dr. Phillips Center is using multiple partnerships to keep the festival free for Central Florida merrymakers. Besides AdventHealth, support comes from the Main Law Firm, which will sponsor the tree, and the OUC — The Reliable One utilities company, which will power the tree’s nightly lighting.
Fairwinds Credit Union will sponsor activities with Santa Claus while Massey Services is providing weeknight caroling performances. And the city is part of the partnerships as well. The Frontyard Holiday Festival falls under the umbrella of the Downtown Development Board’s annual Downtown for the Holidays activities, which include snow, a Christmas market, live performances, a holiday lights show and more at Lake Eola Park as well as the “Holiday Stroll,” a festively decorated walk from Lake Eola to the central business district.
“This new tradition expands our ever-growing holiday offerings by bringing together the arts, local talent and community spirit in a way that perfectly captures the energy of downtown Orlando,” said David Barilla, executive director of the Downtown Development Board & Community Redevelopment Agency. “It’s the kind of experience that connects people to our city and makes downtown feel like home for the holidays.”
Sharon Line Clary, senior vice president of community impact and partnership engagement at AdventHealth, said supporting the Frontyard Holiday Festival aligned with the hospital system’s mission.
“Through experiences like this, we’re helping our community feel whole — nurturing the body, mind and spirit during a season meant for togetherness,” she said.
The entire lawn of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts will soon be the site of seasonal festivities as it’s transformed into the Frontyard Holiday Festival. (Courtesy Dr. Phillips Center)
Musical performances will feature the Dr. Phillips Center’s Quarter Notes and Four Counts ensembles, Opera Orlando, Central Florida Community Arts, Orlando Gay Chorus, Brass Band of Central Florida, Central Florida Vocal Arts’ Belles and Beaux and high school ensembles.
Sean Mundyschein of Orlando Gay Chorus said his organization would perform holiday songs “in a way only we know how — with a bit of extra twinkle. For many in the LGBTQ+ community, the holidays can be a time of mixed emotions, but gathering with our chosen family to share music reflects the very essence of our mission — to inspire inclusion, unity and love through song.”
Other scheduled performers include Tymisha Harris, Ericka Dunlap, April Brown & After 5, Orchestra Fuego, Jarred Armstrong, Will Patrick, 3 and a Half Men, Chase Shellee & the Underground Retro, Derrick Harris & the Eighth Note Collective and The Yuletide Treasures.
The only transportable carillon in North America will visit the festival with its nearly 4 tons of bronze bells ringing out sounds of the season.
On the main stage at Seneff Arts Plaza, family movie presentations will include “Dr. Seuss’ The Grinch,” “The “Polar Express,” “The Santa Clause,” “A Christmas Story” and “The Nightmare Before Christmas.”
Tim Burton’s “A Nightmare Before Christmas” will screen as part of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts’ Frontyard Holiday Festival. (Courtesy Disney/Orlando Sentinel file photo)
On Dec. 31, a family-friendly New Year’s Eve celebration will include a DJ playing holiday mashups, light-up wands and a countdown at 9 p.m.
More details and the festival schedule will be posted at drphillipscenter.org.
In addition to the free entertainment, some activities will require a ticket. Seasonal concessions — s’mores, hot cocoa , specialty cocktails, gelato, decorative waffles, barbecue and more, the center says — will be available for purchase.
Arts-center officials said the idea for the holiday fest has been brewing since the Frontyard Festival, a popular outdoor lineup of events that was born of the necessity for social distancing during the COVID-19 outbreaks in 2020 and 2021.
The free Frontyard Holiday Festival will debut this Dec. at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Orlando. (Courtesy Dr. Phillips Center)
Since opening in 2014, the Dr. Phillips Center has provided more than 63,900 tickets to community
members through its engagement initiatives like this one, according to information provided by the center. AdventHealth supports the community initiatives through a four-year partnership deal.
In a statement provided to the Sentinel, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said events such as the new festival increase community spirit.
“The holidays are always a special time in Orlando, and the Frontyard Holiday Festival brings even more magic to the heart of our city,” Dyer said. “By transforming this outdoor space into a place where residents and visitors can gather, celebrate and create lasting memories, we’re continuing to make downtown a destination for everyone to enjoy throughout the season.”
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https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/11/17/dr-phillips-center-free-holiday-festival/
