Kiddin' Around Waterfront Winterfest
Blue Cross RiverRink and pop-up waterfront winterfest offer ice skating, burgers, fire pits, arcade and s'mores.
The long: Warding off cabin fever is a constant worry for parents during seemingly endless winter months. This pop-up village, open until March 1, offers fun outdoors - regulation skating rink overlooking the Delaware, fire pits, light shows - and inside, with burgers, s'mores, fireplaces, hot chocolate and arcade games.
The short: Spend a couple of hours here, and everyone goes home happy.
Refreshments: Chef Jose Garces' team does burgers ($7-$8), fries, soup ($5), soda ($3) and craft beer inside an enormous heated ski lodge, and kid fare - pretzels, candy - in a neighboring lodge that houses the arcade games. S'mores and hot chocolate are doled out from the Fireside Cafe outdoors. Garces' Distrito Cantina food truck is on site, too.
Skating: $3 for 1.5 hours. $10 to rent a pair.
Crowd: On recent weekend day, the place was mobbed with kids, tweens and teens.
Get there: Parking's $15. SEPTA bus routes 21 & 42 stop at the Great Plaza; routes 17, 33 and 48 stop at Front and Market; from the Market-Frankford El's 2nd Street stop, it's three blocks.
New Year's Eve: Skating for the 6 p.m. and midnight fireworks is sold out. Tix remain to spectate 5-8 p.m.: $30, plus $25 to park (space limited).
Moment to yourself: Whole place somehow feels miles away from the city. The backdrop is something, too: churning river, endless sky, majestic Ben Franklin Bridge.
Basics: Columbus Boulevard and Market Street, 11 a.m.-12:30 a.m. daily through Jan. 4 (hours change next week), 215-925-RINK, delawareriverwaterfront.com.