Tree Lighting at Ciccarone Park on Arthur Avenue
At 4 pm on a December Saturday the light goes from grey to gold along Arthur Avenue. Ciccarone Park sits at Arthur Avenue and East 188th Street, and the Belmont Business Improvement District fills it for a two-hour celebration, 4:00–6:00 pm. Santa works the crowd, carols carry over the park, and neighborhood businesses hand out Italian cookies and hot chocolate. The Belmont BID and the Children's Cancer Society of America run a toy giveaway; children must be present to receive one, and toys go first come, first served. Admission is free and walk-ins are welcome. In 2026 the ceremony falls on Saturday, December 5.
Eat and Shop the December Streets
The tree lighting is the anchor of a month-long Christmas season across the neighborhood: holiday light displays strung through the blocks, restaurants serving through the evening, and the specialty shops of Arthur Avenue open for gift browsing. Build the afternoon around the market counters and bakeries that supply the cookies and cocoa at the park, then sit down for dinner once the tree is lit.
- Arrive early to walk the avenue before the 4 pm start and get a place near the tree.
- Bring children with you if you want a toy from the giveaway — presence is required and supplies are limited.
- Plan dinner after 6 pm, when the ceremony ends and the neighborhood's restaurants take over the evening.
Beyond December: A Calendar Built Around the Avenue
Bronx Little Italy runs a full year of street celebrations, and the neighborhood's events page lists them with dates and times. If your trip doesn't land in December, time it to one of these.
- Feast of Saint Anthony — June 10–14, 2026, hosted by Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church: live music, entertainment, amusements, rides and food, with a Holy Mass in honor of Saint Anthony on Saturday, June 13 and an additional observance on Sunday, June 14.
- Ferragosto — Sunday, September 13, 2026, 12:00–6:00 pm, along Arthur Avenue at East 187th Street, rain or shine. The street festival has run for more than 25 years. A Tombola, the Italian game of chance, kicks things off at the Belmont NYPL & Enrico Fermi Cultural Center on September 10 at 3:00 pm; no registration required.
- Italian Heritage Month Celebration — October 12, 2026, 12:30–3:30 pm, with live music by Pane E Cioccolato.
- Summer evenings with The Belmont 4 — the local Arthur Avenue doo-wop a cappella group performs 6:30–8:30 pm on dates including May 2, 9, 15 and 16.
- Smaller fixtures — National Night Out with NYPD on August 4, 4:00–8:00 pm, with free food and kids' activities; the 5th Annual Gjergj Kastrioti Skenderbeu Fair, an Albanian cultural celebration, on May 3, 12:00–6:00 pm; and Paulie's Push on Arthur Avenue on September 9 at 10:30 am, a 9/11 commemoration walk marking its 25th anniversary.
Know Before You Go
The official Belmont Business Improvement District site, bronxlittleitaly.com, carries the events calendar along with directions, maps and a merchant directory — use it to confirm times before you travel and to plot your route to Ciccarone Park. The neighborhood is in the Belmont section of the Bronx, and the tree lighting is organized by the Belmont BID.
Make a Day of It
Pair the December 5 lighting with an afternoon of browsing the avenue's specialty shops and a long dinner, or pick a June or September weekend and let the feast or Ferragosto set the pace. Check the events page, mark the date, and plan your walk up Arthur Avenue.