Free Ice, a $10 Pair of Skates, and a Giant Guitar Overhead: Wedgewood-Houston Gets a Winter Rink
Nashville has never been much of an ice town. Winter here tends to arrive as a cold rain and leave as a warm Tuesday, and the few chances to skate outdoors have usually meant a temporary rink downtown or a drive to somebody else's city. This year Wedgewood-Houston is putting a sheet of ice in the one place in the neighborhood everybody already knows how to find: directly under the Giant Guitar.
The Rink Under the Giant Guitar opens Friday, November 20, at The Outfield, 416 Chestnut Street, and runs through Monday, January 18, 2027. Getting on the ice costs nothing. Admission is free, and skate rentals are $10 for anyone who did not bring their own.
The hours, and the weeks worth circling
Regular hours are short and aimed squarely at the after-work, after-school crowd: 4 to 7 p.m. daily. The rink stretches out when school lets out for the holidays. During the weeks of December 21 and December 28, skating runs from noon to 10 p.m., with Christmas Eve cut to noon until 4.
Three dates are dark: Thanksgiving Day on November 26, Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Plan the out-of-town relatives' visit accordingly.
Perenn, the all-day bakery and cafe, is handling the concession side of things for the whole season, with hot chocolate, spiced cider, cookies and other cold-weather treats at the rink's edge. Organizers have also promised a slate of programming still to be announced, including themed music nights and movie nights, a singles skate, all-ages events and buy-out packages for private and holiday parties.
Why this corner of town
It is a fitting address. Wedgewood-Houston spent most of the last century as a district of warehouses, rail spurs and small factories south of downtown. Over the past decade and more it has turned into the city's most restless creative neighborhood, the place where galleries share walls with breweries and the monthly art crawl draws people who would never have driven down Chestnut Street a decade ago.
The neighborhood's winter calendar has been filling in accordingly. It is already home to an immersive listening room where the show records itself, and a few blocks away the new 4,400-seat venue The Truth is opening its first season, with Miranda Lambert on opening night. A free rink with a giant instrument overhead gives the district something it did not have before: a reason to linger outdoors after dark in December.
It also arrives in a year when one of the city's biggest holiday light traditions has changed shape. The Nashville Zoo is swapping its silk lanterns for an 85-foot tree this winter, which leaves families shopping for a new cold-night outing. Skating under a guitar is a strong candidate.
If you are coming in from out of town
The rink's holiday stretch lines up neatly with the busiest visitor weeks of the year, when the city is packed for the holidays and New Year's Eve. Wedgewood-Houston sits a short ride south of Broadway, close enough to pair an afternoon skate with dinner downtown. If you are planning a winter trip around it, book your stay »
Bring gloves. Nashville ice is rare enough that it is worth doing properly.
