The City of Bonita Springs has booked its winter. Big band nights, concert band afternoons, a Christmas Eve candlelight service, three weekends of the Center for the Arts festival and a Ukulele Fest are all on the calendar. Most of them are set for Riverside Park, which closed for construction in April and was scheduled to reopen only briefly, for Star Spangled Bonita on July 4. The City has not yet given a reopening date for it.
That gap shapes how downtown Bonita works between now and the new year. The 2026–27 season begins on the Liles Hotel grounds, on Old 41 Road and at Promenade at Bonita Bay. It moves back to the bandshell only if the construction schedule holds through November. If you plan your evenings around downtown events, the venue column on the City's calendar tells you more this season than the dates do.
Three City Pages, Three Different Ways of Saying "Soon"
The schedule has become less specific with each update. On April 8, 2026, the City posted a downtown projects update saying Phase One of Riverside Park was complete, Phase Two would start the second week of April, and the park and the new splash pad were "on track for a grand opening in Winter 2026."
The City's downtown events page now gives the Phase Two construction window as April 2026 through November 2026. The Riverside Park page says the Bandshell "is currently closed for renovations. Planned reopening is late fall."
"Winter 2026," "November" and "late fall" may describe the same finish line, or they may be separate milestones. None of the three pages gives a day. As of this week, the City has published a construction window that closes at the end of next month and a bandshell target with no date.
The Calendar Already Assumes the Finish
The City's 2026–2027 approved special events list is public, and its venue column shows the plan. Two events this fall are away from the park. Then, starting in December, the calendar moves into Riverside Park and stays there through April.
| Date | Event | Listed venue |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 23, 2026 | Boo-Tanical Evening, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. | 27180 Old 41 Road |
| Dec. 8, 2026 | Stardust Memories Big Band, 7 to 9 p.m. | Riverside Park |
| Dec. 12–13, 2026 | Kris Kringle Village, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. | Liles Hotel |
| Dec. 13, 2026 | Bonita Springs Concert Band, 6 to 8 p.m. | Riverside Park |
| Dec. 24, 2026 | Christmas Eve Candle Light Service, 6 to 8 p.m. | Riverside Park |
| Jan. 9–10, 2027 | Center for the Arts Art Festival | Riverside Park |
| Jan. 31, 2027 | Ukulele Fest, 2 to 5 p.m. | Riverside Park |
After January, the list continues with more Center for the Arts festival weekends on Feb. 6–7 and March 6–7. Stardust Memories plays again on Feb. 23, March 9, March 23, April 6 and April 13, and the Bonita Springs Concert Band returns on Jan. 24, Feb. 14, March 14 and April 11. Every one of those dates is listed at Riverside Park.
Dec. 8 is the first park booking, about a week after the City's construction window closes. The calendar shows these events as scheduled. It does not guarantee the work will be finished in time. The festivals have also stayed put. Arts Bonita's visitor page, updated in May, still lists the January, February and March 2027 festivals at 10450 Reynolds St. and describes them as setting up in and around Riverside Park.
Where Downtown Gathers Until Then
The City planned for this gap when it closed the park. Its April update pointed event organizers to the Liles Hotel Plaza and the green space between the Liles Hotel and Riverside Park, which both stayed open during construction. The City also released an event planner toolkit and a parking map, and said it would encourage shuttles and ridesharing to ease congestion.
That is why the near-term calendar sits around the park instead of inside it.
- Boo-Tanical Evening, Friday, Oct. 23. This is the first downtown evening event on the season calendar, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at 27180 Old 41 Road, and it falls the day after this post goes live.
- Saturday mornings at Promenade at Bonita Bay. The City's list includes the Local Roots Flea Market every Saturday from Oct. 3, 2026, through May 29, 2027, from 8 a.m. to noon. It has been running for three weeks already, and it is the one recurring event on the calendar that doesn't depend on the downtown construction.
- Kris Kringle Village, Dec. 12–13. This one is booked at the Liles Hotel from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. both days, so it stays on the historic hotel grounds whether or not the bandshell is ready.
The weekend of Dec. 12–13 shows the season's structure most clearly. Kris Kringle Village runs at the Liles Hotel on Saturday and Sunday, and the Bonita Springs Concert Band is booked inside Riverside Park on Sunday evening, a short walk away. If the park opens on schedule, that Sunday is the first time this season both venues are in use on the same day.
What the Park Is Being Rebuilt to Hold
The finished park matters to these events because of what the redesign adds. The City's Phase Two event layout shows designated vendor stalls, 56 in total, along with synthetic-turf lawn, more lawn, electrical connections, removable bollards, benches, a bike rack, and a picnic table under a shade sail.
Those features are what a multi-day art festival needs. Stalls with power and bollards that can be moved match the setup of a weekend of artist booths. The same document says the final layout and connections are still subject to permitting and as-built conditions, so the drawing shows the plan, not a finished site.
When the park reopens, the familiar features return with it. The City's park page lists the Historic Liles Hotel, the Artist Cottages, the Butterfly Garden, the Veteran's Brick walkway and Memorial, covered picnic shelters and the fountain. It also says most city special events are held there, including Celebrate Bonita, Star Spangled Bonita, Taste of Bonita and Movies in the Park.
The Rest of Downtown Is Running on Its Own Clock
Riverside Park is one of several downtown projects in progress, and each has its own timeline.
The Banyan Lot is getting a splash pad and new restrooms. The City's April update grouped it with the park under the Winter 2026 grand-opening target. No City page has published a newer, more specific date for it since then.
Across the Imperial River, the City lists the Bamboo Lot as a public-private partnership with Barron Collier DT Bonita LLC. The City says the project is in construction and will include residential, retail, office space and public amenities. Barron Collier calls the development Imperial 41. It sits across from Wonder Gardens on two lots on either side of the river and is being built with CAPREIT. Its approved plan includes one- and two-bedroom apartments, commercial space, two public parks, restrooms, parking, a fire pit and bike racks. The City lists it as in construction, and no public completion date has been announced.
On the restaurant side, WINK News reported that SugarShack owner Kyle Moran is developing HoneyHole Downtown, a restaurant built around live music on Old 41. WINK gave an expected opening of early 2027 and said Moran is also building two full-scale restaurants, Telephone North and South.
The plans line up in a clear order. The park opens first if November holds, the splash pad and restrooms follow under the same winter target, a live-music restaurant is expected on Old 41 early next year, and the riverfront parks at Imperial 41 have no date yet. For this season, the date to watch is the first booked night in the rebuilt park, Dec. 8, when Stardust Memories Big Band is scheduled from 7 to 9 p.m.
As downtown Bonita Springs fills in around a new park, a new splash pad and new riverfront development, the homes within walking distance of Old 41 are part of that change. If you would like to know how these projects relate to your own property or to a move you're considering, Luxury by Chad Long can help. Request a complimentary home valuation or a private consultation with The Luxury Living Team.
