Hillsboro: Winter Village Rink Opens Nov. 29; the Holiday Events Lineup and Permit Status
- Hillsboro's holiday events start Nov.
- The log is on page 15 of the packet for the Transportation Committee's Oct.
- That leaves one issued permit, one marked "Closed - Finaled," four in the "Inspection Phase," three "In Review" and one, Holly Days, "Pending." Two events on city calendars, the bazaar and Winter Won…
Hillsboro’s holiday events start Nov. 7 this year, with Veterans Day at the Veterans Memorial Gateway, Holly Days downtown on Nov. 21 and the Winter Village ice rink opening Nov. 29 at Jerry Willey Plaza. A city log of special-event permit applications dated Oct. 15 lists 10 of these November and December events, and only two are marked “Issued” or “Closed – Finaled.”
The log is on page 15 of the packet for the Transportation Committee’s Oct. 27 meeting. It does not define its status terms, and dates can change before an event. Times and prices below come from city and organizer pages; Oct. 31 events are in our Halloween and Día de Muertos guide.
Ten permits, five different statuses
| Date | Event | Place | Log status, Oct. 15 | Official details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 7 | Diwali at Chinmaya Mission | Chinmaya Mission | In Review | 5 p.m.; sponsors only |
| Nov. 8 | Diwali Festival Block Party | Reed’s Crossing | Inspection Phase | No organizer page found |
| Nov. 11 | Veterans Day Celebration | Veterans Memorial Gateway | Inspection Phase | 11 a.m.–noon; free |
| Nov. 14 | Run with Reed’s | Tamarack Park | Issued | $15 residents, $25 others |
| Nov. 21 | Stan Johnston Memorial Toy Run | Elks Lodge #1862 | Inspection Phase | Not checked |
| Nov. 21 | Holly Days | Civic Center Plaza | Pending | 2–7 p.m. |
| Nov. 21–22 | Holiday Bazaar | Senior Center | Not on log | Hours not confirmed |
| Nov. 29–Jan. 10 | Winter Village Ice Rink | Jerry Willey Plaza | Inspection Phase | $19; $16 ages 13 and under |
| Dec. 6 | Light Up Hillsboro | Jerry Willey Plaza | Closed – Finaled | 4–5:15 p.m. |
| Dec. 12 | Winter Wonderland | Jackson Bottom calendar | Not on log | 11 a.m.–4 p.m. |
| Dec. 13 | Festival Latino | Civic Center Plaza | In Review | No public page found |
| Dec. 19 | Snow Much Fun | Jerry Willey Plaza | In Review | 10 a.m.–3 p.m. |
That leaves one issued permit, one marked “Closed – Finaled,” four in the “Inspection Phase,” three “In Review” and one, Holly Days, “Pending.” Two events on city calendars, the bazaar and Winter Wonderland, do not appear on the log.
Veterans Day and early November
Two groups are named for the Nov. 11 Veterans Day celebration. The log names the Washington County Chamber of Commerce as applicant, while the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs listing names the Community, Military, and Veteran Alliance of Oregon as organizer.
The alliance’s event page lists itself as the 2026 lead organization, with the chamber, the City of Hillsboro and American Legion Hillsboro Post 2 among its collaborators. It is taking nominations for honored veterans with a Washington County connection until Wednesday, Oct. 28.
Diwali comes the weekend before. Chinmaya Mission’s events page puts its Nov. 7 celebration at 5 p.m. at its Chinmaya Haridwar center on NE John Olsen Avenue, and says space limits make it a sponsors-only event with an RSVP required.
The Nov. 8 block party on SE Provence Street was filed by an individual, and the Reed’s Crossing events page did not list it on Oct. 26. That page does list the Nov. 14 Run with Reed’s, where children 11 and under run free.
Holly Days weekend, then the rink
Holly Days has a preview: the Hillsboro Downtown Partnership says this year’s tree will travel down Main Street on Friday, Nov. 13, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., on its way to the Civic Center Plaza.
The celebration runs 2 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21, and the partnership says the mayor will lead the 6 p.m. tree-lighting countdown. The same day, the log lists Washington County A.B.A.T.E.’s toy run at the Elks Lodge, and the city calendar lists the Senior Center’s Holiday Bazaar for Nov. 21 and 22.
A week later, the city’s own Winter Village opens. The city calendar lists “Winter Village Begins” on Nov. 29, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and the city’s winter events page says the covered outdoor rink runs through Jan. 10.
New this year, the page says, the rink is open seven days a week. Weekday sessions start at 4, 5:30 and 7 p.m.; weekends and the Dec. 19–Jan. 3 winter break add sessions from 10 a.m. Each hour-long session holds about 45 skaters, with tickets sold in person only.
Admission includes skates, and children 3 and under skate free. Skaters with SNAP/EBT benefits pay $10, or $8 for ages 13 and under, with proof of benefits. The rink closes Dec. 24, Dec. 25 and Jan. 1.
December at Orenco and downtown
Jerry Willey Plaza hosts two more events beside the rink in December. Chabad of Hillsboro’s Light Up Hillsboro menorah lighting is Sunday, Dec. 6. The log gives that permit the same “Closed – Finaled” label as the Oct. 24 Liberty Marching Arts Challenge, without explaining why a December event carries it.
Winter Wonderland appears on the city’s Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve calendar for Saturday, Dec. 12. The next day, Festival Latino is on the log for Civic Center Plaza, filed by an individual; we found no public event page for it.
Snow Much Fun closes the lineup on Saturday, Dec. 19. The city page lists snow flurries on the plaza at the top of every hour, Santa, baby reindeer goats and a pop-up market of more than 30 vendors from the Children’s Entrepreneur Market.
Top image: Illustrative image, 2016: skaters at an outdoor holiday ice rink beside a lit tree in New York’s Bryant Park. Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (cropped).
