The Village of Saugerties is a fun place to stroll around at any time of year, and even more so during the holiday season. Holiday in the Village starts this Sunday, December 4, with shopping and dining in the fun-filled atmosphere along Market, Main and Partition Streets.
“This is what Saugerties is all about,” said mayor William Murphy, calling it the coolest event of the year. “We’re about families and our shops. This is such a neat village, the unity of the businesses and community coming together.”
As always, storefronts will be decorated and lit for the holidays as December shoppers have come to expect, with live mannequins and something new: an Ugly Holiday Sweater Contest. The Dutch Colonial Kiersted House, home of the Historical Society, will be open from 1 until 4 p.m., where Santa will be in position to say “Hi” to all the kids. Throughout the day, kids can enjoy free rides on Ray Mayone’s horsedrawn haywagon. Pickup and dropoff for the hayride will be at Sawyer Savings Bank and at Stella’s Station.
There will be an ice-carving demonstration, and on the streets some familiar cartoon and video-game characters will be roaming around to greet the children. Also beginning at 1 p.m., craft stations at various stores will be open for kids to do some fun crafts, including ornaments, holiday cards, cookie and fried-dough decorating, candy-cane giveaways, jingle-bell-necklace giveaways, face-painting and scarf-making. Find craft stations at the Exchange Hotel, Smith Hardware, Rock Star Rodeo, Hudson Valley Dessert Company, DIG, Kid Around, Main Street Restaurant, Marky Mark Tattoos, M & T Bank, Mirabella Restaurant, Mother Earth’s Storehouse, Revolution Bicycles, the Pig Bar and Grill, Village Pizza and Bank of America.
The newly rebuilt Saugerties Public Library will hold a Festival of Trees event, where local individuals and organizations can decorate trees that will be displayed at the Library for visitors to vote on their favorite tree. The top three winners will receive prizes. There will be holiday tunes and an appearance by the St. Mary’s Choir at the Reis Group parking lot, and dancing as well, with the popular World of Dance group performing on Main Street beginning at 3:30 p.m.
Once again, the main attraction of the day is the raffling off of $8,000 worth of toys for kids ages 1 through 12. A series of raffles will be held throughout the day, and happy winners will be announced during the afternoon. This event is sponsored by the folks at Sawyer Motors and makes for a lot of happy children indeed.
The Firemen’s Light Parade, with engines from Saugerties and beyond decorated with thousands of lights, will cruise from the Village to Seamon Park, where the winners of the best three engines will be announced. The Kiwanis Club of Saugerties will put on its Seamon Park lighting and a special reading of A Visit from St. Nicholas (a/k/a ‘Twas the Night before Christmas). Free bus service from Sawyer Savings Bank to Seamon Park (between 5:30 and 6:30 p.m.) and back (between 6:30 and 7 p.m.) will be provided by Lezette Express.
Shoppers can choose from gourmet chocolates, picture frames, books, fashions for all ages, vintage apparel, jewelry, antiques, home goods, hardware and lots of other unique gifts, sure to please friends and families. Shopping in the Village is a great experience and easy on the feet, with all shops within a reasonable walking span. And don’t hesitate to stop in at the many highly rated eateries in town.
Holiday in the Village runs until the last shop closes and the last diner slips out the door after another excellent repast. The Saugerties Chamber is grateful to Sawyer Motors and other special sponsors who gave so generously to make this event possible: Fehr Brothers, Inc., Kiwanis Club of Saugerties, Naccarato Insurance, the Reis Group, Town & Country Liquors, the Town of Saugerties and the Village of Saugerties. Check www.welcometosaugerties.com for information and updates. For general information, call (845) 246-0553.