Lace Up and Let's Go

Ice skating + giveaways glide into Rice Village this holiday season

Hit the ice at Rice Village this season.

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On November 28, Rice Village is transforming into Ice Village, turning the beloved shopping district into a skate-friendly holiday playground complete with themed nights, sweet treats, hands-on workshops, and a full lineup of events stretching through January 4.

Presented by Advantage BMW Midtown, the district’s first-ever ice rink sits right across from Starbucks and Birkenstock, placing it squarely in the middle of the Village’s eateries, storefronts, and holiday bustle.

Theme nights to match every mood
Who doesn't love a theme? Music Mondays kick off each week with a soundtrack curated for gliding, circling, or cautiously shuffling across the ice. Tuesdays turn into Student, Teacher & School Spirit Day, and Wednesdays invite skaters to embrace the cozy absurdity of Pajama Skate Night.

Date Night Thursdays offer a built-in plan with plenty of nearby restaurants for a cozy dinner before or after, while Family Fridays pack the rink with multigenerational chaos in the best way. Sundays round out the lineup with Ugly Sweater Sundays, a chance to proudly display the knitwear that’s too loud for any other month.

Seasonal events throughout Rice Village
Holiday programming expands outward across the district, too. Santa makes appearances on select Saturdays and Sundays from November 30 to December 21, posing for photos from 1-4 pm. Families can craft something personal at Fabric Forge’s DIY Christmas Stocking Workshops on November 29 and December 6. Tiny’s Milk & Cookies pops up Thursdays through Sundays for warm cookie breaks, and Ron’s Pub brings Holiday Sips to Ice Village from opening day straight through January 3.

On Fridays and Saturdays, make tangible memories you can hang on the tree with Collectible Ornament Nights presented by Wilson Franco. Mark December 17 for Merry Mahjong, a one-night event for fans of tiles, strategy, and friendly competition.

Even Chick-fil-A is joining the fun with mascot meet-and-greets on select days. Santa is Coming to Black Walnut Cafe on December 16 — another chance for your kids to share wish lists or attempt last-minute negotiations with the Big Guy in Red.

12 Days of giveaways
This district-wide tradition is returning December 1-12, with each giveaway including a Family Four-Pack of Ice Village tickets. The daily prize ranges from a Studs piercing duo to a Drybar blowout, a Solidcore five-class pass to a SmartGLO facial from Glo30, plus plenty of restaurant and retail gift cards.

Rink hours + tickets
The rink itself is open seven days a week with hours designed for every kind of holiday schedule: after-school escapes, late-night spins, family weekends, and even Christmas Day and New Year’s Day skating. Tickets are $20, and skate rental is included so all you need to bring is enthusiasm — and maybe an extra layer.

Parking + getting around
Enjoy two hours of free parking in the main garage or rooftop lot, or use the Parkmobile app for longer visits. And you'll want to hang around — Rice Village features more than 60 merchants so you can shop, dine, and explore to your heart's content.

In the spotlight

Houston reels in new rank among 10 best cities for filmmakers in 2026

Photo by Kyle Loftus on Unsplash

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Houston has just snapped up new recognition as the No. 10 best place to live and work as a filmmaker in North America, according to MovieMaker Magazine's annual report, "The Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2026."

The Bayou City has made improvements after ranking 12th in the magazine's 2025 list.

The annual list ranks the best cities in the U.S. and Canada for individuals to live while working in the film industry, based on production spending, tax incentives, cost of living, the prevalence of "local film scenes," and additional factors. The list is divided into two categories: 25 big cities and 10 smaller cities or towns.

The spotlighted cities are the places where the publication believes filmmakers "have the best chance of both succeeding in the famously difficult entertainment industry, and making [their] own art."

For up-and-coming filmmakers that want to live in Texas, MovieMaker says doing it in Houston is "more sustainable than ever" thanks to incentives like the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program, which increased its production grant rebate from 22.5 percent to up to 31 percent for qualified in-state spending. The report also said Houston has an "arms-wide-open" approach for filmmakers.

"As the biggest city in Texas, and fourth biggest city in America, Houston has nearly every type of location, from cityscapes to piney woods to rolling hills to nearby farmland," the report said. "It’s close to Galveston Island and the Gulf of Mexico, and car commercials love the absence of billboard advertising."

MovieMaker also highlighted Houston's diversity, its low cost of living compared to the national average, and its local festivals like the Houston Cinema Arts Festival and Houston Latino Film Festival.

"The city has enough film crew for two to three sizable features, and recent shoots have included the thrillers Eleven Days, with Taylor Kitsch, and A Love, from director Courtney Glaude, Tyler Perry Studios’ executive creator of Scripted and Unscripted," the report said. "Houston is also notable for a strong contingent of films with budgets under $1 million."

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin ranked as the No. 5 best place to live and work as a filmmaker in North America. Dallas ranked seventh, while neighboring Fort Worth ranked 12th. San Antonio appeared as No. 14, and El Paso landed 25th on the list.

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