Downtown Bonita's 2026–27 Season Opens on Old 41 and Moves to Riverside Park in December

This year, downtown Bonita Springs starts its season on the street. Riverside Park at 10450 Reynolds Street holds nearly every concert and festival on the city's 2026–27 calendar. It has been closed since April for its second phase of renovation, and the first approved event inside it isn't until December 8.

For Talis Park residents, downtown Bonita is the nearest small-town main street, just over the Lee County line. That makes the order of this season useful to know. October and November belong to the bars, food trucks and Halloween events along Old 41 Road. The park's season of big bands, concert band afternoons and juried art fairs starts in December and runs through April. Plans made with that order in mind will line up with what's actually open.

The Park That Sets the Clock

The City of Bonita Springs closed Riverside Park in April 2026 for Phase Two. It reopened the park briefly for the Star Spangled Bonita celebration on July 4, and says the work will be finished by winter 2026. On the same downtown block, the Banyan Lot is getting a new splash pad with better lighting and a public restroom building, also expected by winter.

The city's April 8 project update said the splash pad and restrooms were under construction and on track for a "Winter 2026" grand opening, without giving a day. The city's downtown page still gives a winter target and says to check back for updates.

A city event-planning layout for the finished park shows a few features: a synthetic-turf lawn, a shade sail over a picnic table, a bike rack, benches, a veterans memorial with pavers and an art sculpture. It's a planning map for event organizers rather than a full list of amenities, but it gives a sense of what the park will look like when it reopens.

The city's own approved-event list follows that timeline. It has no events at Riverside Park in November. The park's season begins in December.

October Happens on the Sidewalk

While the park is closed, downtown events have moved onto Old 41 and the side streets. The city's free Happy Haunts Halloween walk runs October 22 through 31, from 5:30 to 10 p.m. On October 31, Trick or Treat on Old 41 runs from 5 to 8 p.m., and Old 41 is closed between Wilson and Dean streets from 4 to 9 p.m. Anyone driving through downtown that evening will need another route. In between, Boo-Tanical Evening is approved for October 23 at 27180 Old 41 Road, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The businesses along the street are the other reason October works without the park. Several have opened in the last two years:

• Sugarshack Downtown, 27421 Old 41 Road, opened to the public on January 31, 2025. WINK News covered the launch of the music venue, the Naples Daily News reported on the opening in late January 2025, and Gulfshore Business described a full-service restaurant, two full bars and a merchandise shop.
• Rooftop at Riverside, 27333 Old 41 Road, is a food truck park across from the closed green, so you can still eat outdoors downtown during construction. Naples Press covered its opening.
• Hide A Wai opened in June 2026 in the old Imperial River Laundromat building on Old 41. SWFL.life reported that it serves mojitos made with fresh-pressed sugarcane juice and locally distilled rum, in what it called a laid-back Old Florida setting.

More is under construction. In February 2026, SWFL.life reported on Project Telephone, two restaurant spaces being built on Old 41 near Hampton Street. The operators haven't been named.

The Lineup Once the Gates Open

When the park reopens, it hosts most of the season. Here is every Riverside Park date on the city's approved 2026–27 list, along with the one December event held elsewhere.

The schedule has a regular rhythm. Stardust Memories Big Band plays Tuesday evenings. The Bonita Springs Concert Band moves from a 6 p.m. start in December to 4 p.m. matinees from January on. The busiest weeks are in March, with an art festival weekend followed by two big band nights and a concert band afternoon over about two and a half weeks.

The art festivals are the biggest draws. Arts Bonita lists its National Art Festivals at Riverside Park for January 9–10, February 6–7 and March 6–7, 2027. The two sources list different closing times. The city's permit list shows each festival day ending at 5 p.m., while Arts Bonita gives Sunday hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you're going on Sunday, the organizer's 4 p.m. close is the safer one to plan around.

For a Saturday morning downtown, the city also lists the Local Roots Flea Market every Saturday from October 3, 2026, through May 29, 2027, from 8 a.m. to noon. It isn't held downtown. It's at the Promenade at Bonita Bay, which makes it an easy first stop on the way.

Parking Got Tighter Before It Gets Better

Downtown has fewer public parking spaces than it did a year ago. Starting December 1, 2025, the city's Bamboo Lot closed to public parking because a public/private development with Barron Collier DT Bonita LLC began construction there. The city now points visitors to on-street spaces and the Felts Avenue lot. It has also asked event organizers to look at shared parking with local businesses and shuttles from remote lots.

So this season's crowds will come back to a downtown with fewer parking spaces than it had last winter. The busiest nights will be the December 13 concert band show, held the same weekend as Kris Kringle Village, and the art festival Saturdays. Arriving early on those days is the practical move.

The development replacing that lot is the reason the shortage is temporary. Barron Collier Companies calls it Imperial 41, a mixed-use project along the Imperial River. It will have about 19,000 square feet of commercial space, 120 rental residences, public green spaces and public parking. In June 2026 the company announced its first signed tenants: Oberweis Ice Cream and Dairy, Simple Beauty Studio, Old Bonita Surf Shop and The Brass Alligator. At that point, one riverfront restaurant space and three retail or office spaces were still available. Tenants are expected to get their spaces for interior buildout in summer 2027. That means shops and restaurants won't open there until after this season ends.

A longer-term project is also funded. On August 18, 2026, Bonita Springs voters approved a $35 million bond for the Bonita Estero Rail Trail, which would include about 5.8 miles inside the city. WINK News reported that the rail line still has to be removed and the trail designed and built, and no opening date has been set.

Taken together, this season sits between two phases. The city expects the rebuilt park and splash pad by winter, and the park's first approved event is December 8. Imperial 41's shops, ice cream and public parking come after summer 2027. For the next six months, the full downtown calendar runs on a street with fewer parking spaces than it will eventually have.

If you're splitting your season between Talis Park and the Riverside Park calendar, West of 41 can help you plan around dates like the December 8 opener and the March art festival weekend. Request a private tour, and we'll share what we know about the places on Old 41 along the way.