Courtesy of Glens Falls Collaborative
By Lee Coleman
The Adirondack Holiday Festival to be held from Friday, Dec. 6, through Sunday, Dec. 8, and hosted by Glens Falls Collaborative, will celebrate the start of the yuletide season in downtown Glens Falls.
The festival kicks off with a Santa parade Friday evening, the lighting of the community tree, and visits with Santa for the children. Live music, activities for young people, and holiday themed gifts from shops in the city are also part of the event.
The weekend is a “celebration featuring classic holiday traditions and Adirondack charm,” according to the organizers.
Cam Cardinale, festival director and member of the Glens Falls Collaborative Board of Directors, said more than 40 vendors have signed up to participate in the festival weekend. The Collaborative is a volunteer-led membership organization formed in 2012. Members include retail businesses, restaurants, arts and non-profit groups, medical firms and service providers.
The festival moved from Lake George to Glens Falls four years ago, Cardinale said. A detailed hour by hour schedule for this year’s event will be finalized in the near future. See the collaborative website (www.glensfallscollaborative.com/adirondack-holiday/) for details.
Cardinale said the popular American-Celtic band, The McKrells, will be part of the musical offerings during the festival.
The event is produced by Glens Falls Collaborative with support from the City of Glens Falls, the Glens Falls Business Improvement District and Advokate. Major sponsors include the Queensbury Hotel, Medline, Crandall Library, and Albany Medical System.
Other holiday-themed events include the 33rd Annual Festival of Trees to be held Friday, Nov. 29 through Sunday, Dec. 1, at the Queensbury Hotel. General times for the festival (no admission fee) are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec.1.
The Festival of Trees is presented by Berkshire Bank to benefit the Prospect Center on Aviation Road in Queensbury, an affiliate of the Center for Disability Services.
“The downtown Glens Falls landmark Queensbury Hotel will be transformed into a holiday wonderland with beautifully decorated trees, wreaths, swags, kissing balls, centerpieces, gingerbread houses, hats etc. available for purchase,” according to the organizers.
Breakfast with Santa, a popular event for children and their parents, will be held at 8:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Saturday Nov. 30, and Sunday, Dec. 1. Registration is required for Breakfast with Santa and can be accomplished by going to http://www.cfdsny.org or by contacting Kim Heunemann at 518-832-6113.
The organizers say that artisans and decorators are still needed. The vendors who are interested in having their handcrafted items sold during the festival can contact Donella Fisher at 518-791-0067.
Because of the long standing support of this event, the Prospect Center is able to provide needed programs and services to individuals with disabilities.
Lake George will kick off the holiday season with Lite Up the Village starting at 3 p.m. Nov. 30 in the village. Every year the village of Lake George is lit by more than 5,000 lights starting with live music at Shepard Park Amphitheater with the Newell Family. At 4 p.m. Rich Ortiz will play in the amphitheaters followed by Suzie Q and Matt Donnelly.
At 5:45 p.m. there will be a Crazy and Ugly Sweater contest followed by a holiday music sing along and countdown to illumination. At 6:25 p.m. some 7,000 holiday lights will be lit by village employees throughout Sherpard Park, down Canada Street and along Beach Road into Charles R. Wood Park. Fireworks will be set off at 6:30 p.m. and at 6:55 p.m. a Parade of Holiday lights will step off from Lake George High School and travel down Canada Street to Beach Road and bring Santa and Mrs. Claus into town.
Prizes will be awarded in the adult and children’s divisions of the Ugly Sweater contest. Channel 13 news anchor Mark Mulholland will serve as master of ceremonies. After the parade families are invited to join Santa, Mrs. Claus and Santa’s elves at the Lake George Firehouse on Ottawa Street where refreshments will be served.