This past Saturday evening, the Full Moon rose in a cold, clear sky with Jupiter tagging along beside it. Ivy Bollbach, 4 ½, and her little sister Fern, 2 ½, had been jaunting about New Paltz all day, but they weren’t ready to conk out just yet. It was the day of the town’s annual Holiday Hoopla celebration, and these kids (and their parents) were making the most of it.
At the Winter Carnival portion of the event, hosted by Historic Huguenot Street, Ivy had her face painted as Wonder Woman, with a golden tiara at her hairline. Fern was painted as Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, with antlers spanning her forehead. They had made tree ornaments and decorated cookies in the crafts tent, talked to Santa Claus and Buddy the Bear, petted “four cute donkeys with sweaters and scarves” and danced to the music of DJ Jay Smooth and Probable Cause. The Police Benevolent Association was also there handing out free hot cocoa, as well as racecar driver Allison Ricci and her “Dirt Car.” There were games and a photo booth and lots of educational materials for the taking.
The Bollbach family went home for a dinner break after that, so they missed the Music, Merriment & More activities taking place at the Elting Memorial Library, including storytelling by Lorraine Hartin-Gelardi and a talk by Ellen Kalish, director of the Ravensbeard Wildlife Center. Kalish made the limelight big-time in 2020 when she rehabilitated Rocky, the tiny owl who had stowed away in the branches of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, and released her back into the wild.
It was the Library’s first year of hosting a portion of Holiday Hoopla, and fun activities were happening outside the building as well. There were a fried dough truck, live caroling from the New Paltz High School Choir in the parking lot and showtunes from vocalist Christina Kokonis out front. A volunteer group called Be the Change New Paltz was collecting donations of spices for the Family of New Paltz Food Pantry and various items for the free supply closet at the Middle School.
As darkness fell, brightly lit and decorated floats, firetrucks and first responder vehicles converged at the Middle School, getting ready to roll out in the Peace & Light Parade. They were in contention for the three prizes to be awarded in the categories of Children’s Favorite, sponsored by RIC3 Mortgage; Most Festive, sponsored by the New Paltz Youth Program; and Most Creative, sponsored by Tom’s Repair. Costumed Candy Cane Crew volunteers, hula-hoopers, jugglers, musicians and other celebrants high-stepped it down Main Street and across Plattekill Avenue, defying the cold, until they reached the parade’s terminus at the Village of New Paltz Department of Public Works parking lot.
It was as a parade that Holiday Hoopla first manifested in 2020, conceived by Phoenix Kawamoto of the Town of New Paltz’s Office for Community Wellness and Jim Tinger of the New Paltz Youth Program as an antidote to the loneliness and isolation that many residents felt during the COVID quarantine. With Tinger dressed as Santa and Kawamoto as a polar bear — roles they reprise during Hoopla each year — a caravan of fire engines, a brass band and a swarm of hula-hoopers made their way through the town, bringing a taste of festivity to various neighborhoods.
Kawamoto’s mandate is to organize activities designed to support mental health, fight addiction and prevent suicide, especially among young people, and the winter holiday season is a time when many aren’t feeling as cheerful as they’re expected to be. So, each year Holiday Hoopla gets a little bigger and more elaborate, as more municipal agencies, community organizations, businesses, schools and service providers get on board. The coalition of sponsors and volunteers calls itself Thriving Together New Paltz, and every event it organizes includes booths and tables where people in need can get crucial information about support services that are available to help them survive stressful times.
After the parade broke up, participants and spectators, including the Bollbach family, made their way further downtown to the fourth and final component of Holiday Hoopla 2024: Water Street Wonderland. When HV1 caught up with Ivy and Fern, they were still going strong, coloring pictures and writing letters to Santa in front of the Grazery. These activities were organized by a group of student volunteers calling themselves Kids’ Activities by Teens (KAT). “There used to be more things here, like movie nights, but not since COVID,” said Mia Gagne, a junior at New Paltz High School. “Water Street Market has very much been a family space. We want it to always be a thing.”
Across the way, in the Cronin Gallery, toys were being collected for the benefit of People’s Place in Kingston. A wall-mounted video screen depicted a roaring fire, creating a convivial atmosphere, while Mark Chiancone of Liquid Mercantile in Pine Bush handed out free samples of products from his artisanal distillery. At the south end of the row of shops, a jolly crew convened inside the Mudd Puddle Café for the 20th annual Community Sing-along to benefit Family of New Paltz. Lyrics to holiday songs familiar and unfamiliar were projected onto the wall, a guitarist strummed and the crowd joined in.
It was a festive ending for a long and jam-packed day of celebration. The Bollbach girls were certain to sleep well that night.
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