At 7 a.m., the espresso machine starts up at Frenchies Coffee Bar on the ground floor of The August, facing the water at Steelpointe Harbor. An hour later the Steelpointe Harborwalk opens for the day. Santa is set up inside Bass Pro Shops a few steps away. On Thursday through Sunday evenings, the lanterns at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo stay lit on Noble Avenue until 9:30 p.m.
This is the first holiday season with all of those pieces running at once, and the new morning stop at the harbor is what links them. The East Side and East End can now carry a full day of holiday plans, as long as you pick the right day of the week.
What changed at the harbor this year
The change is The August, which the Connecticut Post reported opened with 420 apartments at 55 East Main St., with residents already moving in. The building held its ribbon-cutting on Aug. 6, 2026. At the opening the developer told Connecticut Public the building was about 10% occupied and more than 20% leased.
What matters most for a holiday outing is the street level. The Stamford Advocate reported in late October that The August's ground floor has two commercial tenants, Frenchies Coffee Bar and Newtown Savings Bank. Frenchies is open at 45 East Main St. every day from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., serving coffee, breakfast and lunch. Until now the harbor had no coffee-and-breakfast stop of its own to begin a holiday day.
How the hours line up
Each East Side stop keeps different hours. Lay them side by side and you get a day with very few gaps:
| Stop | Address | Hours | Holiday-season draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frenchies Coffee Bar | 45 East Main St. | Daily, 7 a.m.–3 p.m. | Coffee, breakfast, lunch |
| Steelpointe Harborwalk | Starts at Bass Pro Shops | Daily, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | Waterfront walk, leashed dogs welcome |
| Boca Oyster Bar | 10 E Main St. | Mon–Sat 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m.; Sun 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m. | Lunch or dinner on the harbor |
| Bass Pro Shops | 1 Bass Pro Dr. | Mon–Sat 9 a.m.–9 p.m.; Sun 10 a.m.–7 p.m. | Santa's Wonderland photo visits |
| GLOW Wild at Beardsley Zoo | 1875 Noble Ave. | Thu–Sun, 5:30–9:30 p.m., through Dec. 20 | 40+ illuminated lantern displays |
GLOW Wild sets the schedule. It is the only stop that doesn't run every day, so it decides which days work. On Thursday through Sunday you can go from Frenchies at 7 a.m. to the zoo's last hour without a dead stretch. The rest of the week, the harbor still works for a morning or a Santa visit, but the evening is gone.
Sunday is the tightest day. Bass Pro closes at 7 p.m. and Boca at 9 p.m., while GLOW Wild still runs until 9:30 p.m. On a Sunday, do Santa and an early dinner at the harbor before you head to Noble Avenue.
Santa at Bass Pro, the midday anchor
Santa's Wonderland ties the middle of the day together. According to Bass Pro's announcement, dated Oct. 26, 2026, Santa arrives with a celebration on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 5 p.m. local time, and in-store visits run from Sunday, Nov. 8, through Christmas Eve.
What to know before you go:
- Each visit includes a free 4×6 photo and a shareable video.
- Free reservations open up to seven days ahead, and walk-ins are taken first come, first served.
- Extra photo packages cost more, and CLUB members get 20% off.
- The Bridgeport store page lists general store hours but not Santa's daily hours, so check those when you book.
Since reservations open only a week out, Thursday is a good day to book a weekend visit. Then the plan writes itself. Do photos late in the morning, walk the Harborwalk past Boca Oyster Bar afterward, and sit down at Boca when it opens at 11:30 a.m. The Harborwalk runs from Bass Pro and loops in front of Boca, so the two are one short walk. Bikes and skateboards aren't allowed on the walkway.
GLOW Wild closes the day, and the calendar
The evening stop is GLOW Wild at Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo, presented by ASML. The zoo describes more than 40 displays and hundreds of new handcrafted illuminated lanterns, plus interactive pieces, along glowing paths. It runs Thursday through Sunday, 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., from Oct. 1 through Dec. 20.
Bass Pro's Santa stays through Christmas Eve, but the lanterns go dark four days before. The last full East Side day, coffee through lanterns, is Thursday, Dec. 17, through Sunday, Dec. 20. In the final week before Christmas the harbor still works for daytime plans, but the day ends there.
If you have small kids, the zoo runs daytime programs as well. Zoo Tots, a 30-minute session for ages 22 months to 4 years with an adult, has a session called "Do You See What I See?" on Nov. 5 at 10:30 a.m. The zoo is also building a new play space with a 13-foot panda climbing sculpture, bamboo swings and sensory activities.
Two market dates on the calendar
The daily routine above works any Thursday through Sunday. Two dated markets give two particular weekends an extra stop.
- Saturday, Nov. 21: East End Yacht Club Holiday Fair. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 104 Bay St., vendors bring holiday gifts including matted and framed photo prints, boutique-style jewelry and accessories, and poly burlap Christmas wreaths. The club's bar and galley will be open. Admission is free and the fair is open to the public, according to the club's event listing. The fair closes at 3 p.m. and GLOW Wild opens at 5:30, so the Saturday before Thanksgiving fits a morning at the fair, an afternoon on the harbor and an evening at the zoo.
- Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 5–6: Art is Good Holiday Market. Two days, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at Foolproof Brewery, 800 Union Ave. The market listing promises vintage finds, art, clothing, records, furniture and local makers. On Saturday, close at the zoo. On Sunday, keep the early harbor closings in mind.
Put together, the season has a clear order. Santa visits start Nov. 8, the yacht club fair is Nov. 21, the Foolproof market is Dec. 5–6, the lanterns end Dec. 20 and Santa leaves Dec. 24.
What comes next to the harbor
This is the harbor's first winter as a place where people live, and the developer is already planning more. The Stamford Advocate reported that RCI Group is designing a 14- to 16-story next phase behind The August, with roughly 300 apartments and about 9,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space. The developer expects to submit zoning plans in mid-2027. At The August's opening, the developer said the full Steelpointe buildout would take at least a decade. For this season, the street-level stops are the ones in the table above.
If you own a home on the East Side or in the East End and wonder what this growth along the harbor means for your property, Yasmina Delacruz-Bailey can walk you through it in English or Spanish. Request your free home valuation and you'll know where your home stands before the next phase breaks ground.
