On Thursday, November 19, at 7:45 p.m., the tree in Hyde Park Village will be lit. The evening also includes a Nutcracker-inspired performance by The Tampa City Ballet, live music and a visit from Santa. Janelle Martinez of Great Day Live is hosting, and proceeds go to The Children's Dream Fund.
The Village's 2027 lineup is also taking shape. Since August, Hermès, Brunello Cucinelli and Cartier have all announced Village storefronts, and each one is expected to open in 2027 or later. This holiday season is the last one on the current lineup. The calendar from now through early December is built around the performers, vendors and long-standing tenants who will still be here when the new names arrive.
The leases signed for after this season
The announcements came in two rounds this fall. WS Development, which owns the Village, said in August that Hermès had signed a lease for an 8,030-square-foot, two-story boutique, expected to open sometime in 2027. WS Development president Samantha David said the brand opens boutiques with "a painstaking approach to making it a true point of pride for its neighbors and guests."
On October 15, That's So Tampa reported that the Italian fashion house Brunello Cucinelli and the French jeweler Cartier are both planning Village storefronts.
| Brand | Announced | Expected opening |
|---|---|---|
| Hermès | August 13, 2026 | Sometime in 2027 |
| Brunello Cucinelli | October 15, 2026 | 2027 |
| Cartier | October 15, 2026 | Late 2027 or early 2028 |
All three dates fall after this December, so none of these stores will be part of the 2026 holidays.
Two smaller arrivals are closer. FRAME, which WS Development lists among the brands joining the Village, has an address at 1630 W Snow Ave, according to WhatNow Tampa. The Village directory also lists Lola + The Boys, a children's fashion label, as coming soon.
The names that signed on to stay
The same That's So Tampa report covered a less flashy piece of news that matters more to the holiday calendar. Downtown Dogs, On Swann and Buddy Brew have all renewed their leases at the Village.
The three cover a whole day. Buddy Brew is the morning coffee stop, and Downtown Dogs is the shop for the pet who comes along on Village walks. On Swann is one of two Village restaurants, with Ro, that WS Development describes as Michelin-rated. The renewals mean the businesses that run this year's errands, coffee runs and dinners will still be on the same corners when the 2027 storefronts open.
The rest of this season follows the same pattern. The holiday events below are run by a local ballet company, a flower truck, a pop-up collective, a ceramics studio, a monthly farmers market and one of the Village's own restaurants.
Thursday, November 19: the tree lighting
Holiday Happening runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m., and the tree lighting is at 7:45. The City of Tampa lists the Hyde Park Tree Lighting on its events calendar as free and open to the public. The Village's event page says more details are still to come, so check it the week of the event for any program additions.
The order of the evening matters for families. The ballet and the visit from Santa happen during the program, but the lighting itself comes 15 minutes before the program ends. Anyone who wants the full evening should plan to be there by 7:45 at the latest.
Because it's a Thursday, dinner after the lighting is an easy plan. In North Hyde Park, V Modern Italian opened this fall at 1701 W North A St., in a 7,400-square-foot space in the new Rome Collective development. It's led by Michelin-starred chef Stefano Ciotti and began taking reservations on October 8. Creative Loafing Tampa reports that it's open Thursdays from 4 p.m. to midnight. The same report lists a "Tutti Antipasti Tower" and a "Martini Tower" of twelve espresso or dirty martinis served for the table, which suits a group coming over from the tree lighting.
Thanksgiving weekend in Village Circle
The weekend after Thanksgiving is the busiest stretch of the season, and most of it happens in Village Circle.
- Friday, November 27, through Sunday, November 29: The Coastal Cowgirls Collective sets up a trucker-bar pop-up in Village Circle, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.
- Saturday, November 28, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Posies Flower Truck parks in Village Circle, close to the Coastal Cowgirls pop-up.
- Saturday, November 28, 4 to 7:30 p.m.: Ro hosts its Smoked Peking Duck Dinner Experience. You reserve a date and pre-order in advance, and the Village's listing says the pre-order has a minimum lead time.
Put together, that Saturday is a full day. A late-morning walk covers the flower truck and the pop-up, and the duck dinner takes the early evening. The dinner is the one item that needs advance planning, so it's the one to book before the turkey is carved.
Fresh flowers on the Saturday after Thanksgiving also fill a practical need. The holiday table is cleared, and the next round of December hosting is a few days away.
Into December
The first days of December belong to Color Me Mine, the paint-your-own-ceramics studio. It holds a Pajama Night on Tuesday, December 1, and a 5 After 5 event on Wednesday, December 2.
That Sunday, December 6, the Hyde Park Village Fresh Market returns from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The market runs on the first Sunday of every month, and Tampa Bay Markets lists those 10-to-3 hours for its October-through-May season. That makes December 6 the only December market. The next one falls on the first Sunday of January.
For anyone collecting the season's dates in one place:
- Thursday, November 19: Holiday Happening and tree lighting at 7:45 p.m.
- Friday, November 27, through Sunday, November 29: Coastal Cowgirls pop-up in Village Circle
- Saturday, November 28: Posies Flower Truck, then Ro's Peking duck dinner
- Tuesday, December 1, and Wednesday, December 2: Color Me Mine evenings
- Sunday, December 6: Fresh Market, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Parking for the busy nights
The Village's parking page lists free guest parking in three garages, street parking at $1.50 an hour from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily, and valet for $15. Valet hours are listed separately for Meat Market and Timpano, Ro, and Palihouse.
On November 19, that timing matters. The tree lighting at 7:45 falls inside metered hours, so street parking costs money through the whole program. The garages are free, and a garage space also avoids feeding a meter in the middle of the ballet. On November 28, Ro's valet hours are worth checking before the duck dinner.
The Village has been trading summer storefronts since July, and it now has leases signed into 2028. The holiday calendar is still run by a ballet company, a flower truck, a ceramics studio, a farmers market and the coffee shop, pet store and restaurant that just renewed.
If you have questions about how the Village's next round of openings could affect the blocks around Snow Avenue, Andrea Webb follows Hyde Park closely and is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.
