Historic Huguenot Street and the Reformed Church of New Paltz are once again joining forces for “A Holiday on Huguenot Street.” The fourth annual event will be held Friday and Saturday, December 1 and 2. And as one would expect from an historic street first occupied by the Huguenots in 1677 and a church that’s been a house of worship since 1683, A Holiday on Huguenot Street hearkens back to earlier times.
Friday, December 1: lighting up the night
The event kicks off on Friday, December 1 at 3:30 p.m., when special holiday-themed tours of the Abraham Hasbrouck House and the Deyo House begin. Tours depart from the DuBois Fort Visitor Center at 81 Huguenot Street every hour on the half hour — with one exception: there is no 6:30 p.m. tour — with the last tour going out at 8:30 p.m. Pre-register for tours at https://www.huguenotstreet.org/.
A Cookie Walk will be held from 5-7 p.m. in the DuBois Fort Visitor Center at 81 Huguenot Street, organized by “Local at Heart,” a regional initiative that helps support food pantries in the community. The Cookie Walk will feature a large variety of homemade cookies from the organization along with the Misty Mountain Girl Scouts and other members of the community. Shoppers can customize their own selection of treats, which are sold by the pound. Hot cocoa and cider will also be available.
Over at the Reformed Church at 92 Huguenot Street, the Wullschleger Education Building will host New Paltz-based photography studio Duetimage Photography, which will offer visitors the opportunity to have family and pet portraits taken from 4-6 p.m. Proceeds benefit the Humane Society of Walden.
The Reformed Church’s Craft Fair will be in the same location from 5-8 p.m., and at 6 p.m., “Soup on the Stoop” commences, the church’s longtime tradition that offers exactly what it sounds like: homemade soups and hot cider along with other warm beverages, accompanied by a live outdoor concert from the Reformed Church choir.
The precursor to the community tree lighting starts at 6:45 p.m. with the festive Paper Lantern Parade down Huguenot Street to the tree, where a 7 p.m. tree lighting ceremony will include remarks by New Paltz Village Mayor Tim Rogers, Town Supervisor Neil Bettez and Deputy Supervisor Dan Torres. The Crazy Cow Kettle Corn Company of Kingston will be on hand to satisfy snackers until 8 p.m.
Santa and Mrs. Claus will greet visitors after the tree lighting on the Deyo House porch, and a free concert by Big Blue Big Band closes out the evening at the Reformed Church beginning at 8 p.m.
Saturday, December 2: a daytime homage to New Paltz’s agrarian past
The Reformed Church will open its doors at 9 a.m. with the Craft Fair continuing until 2 p.m., and the holiday-themed tours of the Abraham Hasbrouck House and the Deyo House begin again at 10 a.m. Tours depart from the DuBois Fort Visitor Center at 81 Huguenot Street every hour on the hour, with the last tour beginning at 3 p.m. Reserve a spot on a tour at https://www.huguenotstreet.org/.
The Girl Scouts and Local at Heart offer their Cookie Walk again, this time outdoors, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. across the street from the Roosa House Schoonmaker Library at 88 Huguenot Street.
Duetimage Photography will return to the church’s Wullschleger Education Building at 92 Huguenot Street. from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. As with the evening prior, proceeds benefit the Humane Society of Walden. In the same location, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., a teddy bear-building workshop will be held. Cost is $15.
Saturday’s activities include visits from the animals. The miniature donkeys arrive at 10:30 a.m. for a two-hour stay; visitors will find them outside the Wullschleger Education Building at 92 Huguenot Street. At 11 a.m., a petting zoo with ducks, chickens and homing pigeons will be presented by members of a local 4-H Club at the DuBois Fort Visitor Center at 81 Huguenot St. And a “meet-and-greet” with a family of sheep can be found outside the Bevier-Elting House at 84 Huguenot Street.
Hungry attendees can find light refreshments available for purchase in the Reformed Church’s Christmas Café in the Social Hall at 92 Huguenot Street from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The menu includes soup, sandwiches, hot dogs, beverages and desserts.
Horse-drawn wagon rides with caroling will depart regularly from the DuBois Fort Visitor Center at 81 Huguenot Street from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Cost is $5 per person, children age three and under ride free.
Join the family! 
