HOLLAND, Mich. — Dutch dancers are trading their wooden shoes for the ice as Dutch Winterfest returns to Holland for its second year this December.
WATCH: Dutch Winterfest returns to Holland with Dutch dancers taking to the ice
The festival, organized by Tulip Time Festival, will run Dec. 1-5 with a mix of new and returning events celebrating Dutch culture during the holiday season.
New this year is Dutch Skate at Holland Ice Park, featuring skaters dressed in traditional Dutch attire.
Visitors will also notice more Dutch-inspired public art downtown this year.
"We're increasing some of our public art downtown with some painted wooden shoes, some additional ornaments that'll be hanging in GDK Park," Gwen Auwerda, executive director of Tulip Time Festival, said.
The festival's Delft Downtown experience will feature oversized ornaments, wooden shoes and other Dutch symbols inspired by traditional blue-and-white Delft pottery.
The Sinterklaas Shuffle will also return, inviting families to travel through downtown Holland with lanterns and passports while stopping at themed stations and learning about Sinterklaas traditions.
Auwerda said the tradition helped inspire Tulip Time to expand its Dutch programming into the winter.
"We've always celebrated Sinterklaas, which is the Dutch Santa who visits children the first weekend of December," Auwerda said. "So it just kind of came together with us planning as a team and deciding that we needed to celebrate more Dutch winter events around the Sinterklaas event."
Adults can also take part in the returning Proost! Tasting Tour, which Auwerda said was popular during Holland's Fall Fest.
"Proost sold out during our Fall Fest weekend, so if you're interested in that at all, you get three tastings and three bites of food, cheese, desserts, at three different locations," Auwerda said. "It's a wonderful event. You'll get a Dutch costumed guide that'll take you all around."
The festival also includes the Holiday Huis Tour, along with live performances from Michigan-IO and the Holland Concert Jazz Orchestra.
Tickets are on sale now, with a complete schedule and additional information available here.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
