http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2010/12/03/life/doc4cf86564655c4822086887.txt
A river runs through them: Catskill, Hudson events mark the holidays
Ann Gibbons
Two communities, facing each other across the Hudson River, have set in motion two holiday events, one brand-new, one time-honored, that will make Saturday a day in December to remember for the joy, spirit and fun they will bring to adults and kids.
In Catskill, the first-ever A Day in December, will kick off at noon and run to 5 p.m. In Hudson, the city celebrates its 14th annual Winter Walk, from 5-8 p.m.
Both are free and will be held in each municipalities’ main thoroughfare. Both are community-wide events celebrating their diversities. Otherwise, they are as different as day from night.
And, that, is exactly how Eileen Dees, Catskill native and organizer of A Day in December, planned it from the start.
“I wanted to have a community celebration on Saturday, but I didn’t want it to conflict with the better-known Winter Walk,” Dees said during an interview on a busy Friday at The Garden Gate, the restaurant at 424 Main St. that she’s owned for the past 8½ years. “I thought it would work better for Catskill if the event started and ended before Winter Walk began,” she said.
Dees said she got the idea for a festive, family-oriented day, with lots of activities and some surprises, only about eight weeks ago and has been working on it steadily since. “I’ve had wonderful cooperation all over the village,” she said.
Noting that the village has faced some harsh economic times, Dees said business owners she approached were enthusiastic. “People are really up for some fun,” she said, adding that all the stores will be open.
“We’ve put vendors, selling all kinds of goods, into the empty store fronts. The owners have been very responsive to our requests,” she said.
Dees said Main Street will remain open so the traffic can flow and people can stop at certain events that are time-specific, such as a reading of the beloved poem, “The Night Before Christmas” by Clement Clark Moore, which will be read by professional actors Eileen and Joseph Capone, also village residents. The readings will be at 1:30 and 3:30 p.m
Snow is not forecast so Dave Sherman of Windham will offer free wagon rides, instead of sleigh rides, all afternoon beginning at the corner of Church and Main streets. They are his donation to the event.
“Santa will arrive at noon and we’re offering free photos with the jolly old elf,” Dees said. Santa will meet and greet youngsters at a special Santa House at 418 Main St., designed, decorated and donated by the Catskill Police Benevolent Association.
“They’ve set up a cozy and inviting place with a fireplace, a decorated Christmas tree and a special Santa chair,” Dees said.
Regardless of the weather, ice sculptor Sean Taylor will demonstrate ice sculpting techniques outside Village Pizza, which is sponsoring the demonstrations.
Victorian strollers, courtesy of Jane and Peter Ricci of High Peak Insurance Co., will sing traditional carols up and down Main Street from 1-4 p.m., as will the Catskill High School Trebelaires, who will sing from noon to 1 p.m.
The Post Office has set up a special direct-to-the-North-Pole mailbox for children’s letters to Santa, Dees said.
Among the day’s highlights:
The Community Theater will present the children’s musical group, The Zucchini Brothers, and a magician, at noon, followed by the film, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” courtesy of the theater.
Sawyer Chevrolet will offer hot chocolate and doughnuts and a bike giveaway every half hour, and a $1,000 savings bond giveaway at 5 p.m., courtesy of owner Larry Siracusano.
There will be sled giveaways every half hour, courtesy of Phylis and Bob Phoenix.
Gary Schiro, Executive Director of the Hudson Opera House,right, Ellen Thurston, VP o fhte Board of te Opera ouse and the Cordinator of Winter walk, and Joe Herwick Deputy Director of the Opera House wrap children's books which
Van Gorden’s will sponsor a reading and book signing of “Historic Places in Greene County,” a publication of the Greene County Historical Society, with Jean Bush, Ken Mabey and Natalie Day, from noon to 2 p.m.
The Bottle Shop, owned by Diane Varga, will host liqueur company representatives who will discuss pairings of chocolate and Chambord, from noon to 6 p.m. and tastings of Italian wines, from 2-5 p.m., according to Gabriella Varga, the owner’s niece.
“There are signs with big numbers on all the buildings, so people can find them easily,” Dees said. The signs and huge banner across Main Street are courtesy of Craig Remaley, owner of Mountain T-shirts, in Catskill.
For children, there will be face painting with Cynthia Mulvaney from 12-5 p.m.; stilt walker Corey Cox from 1-4 p.m.; Brownies will hold a bake sale to benefit Toys for Tots; Boy Scouts will sell fresh pine wreaths; and the Trebelaires will sing at 3 p.m.
Further information may be obtained by calling Dees at (518) 943-1994 or visitingwww.welcometocatskill.com.
Meanwhile, across the river, the Hudson Opera House’s venerable and traditional Winter Walk, entering its 14th year, picks up where A Day in December left off, with all festivities in and along the beautifully dressed up Warren Street beginning at 5 p.m.
Winter Walk, like the Catskill event, is free and welcomes the public.
“We keep getting bigger, and more people come, every year,” said Gary Schiro, opera house executive director. He said the attendance information is guided by Hudson police who estimated last year that upwards of 12,000 people, in raw, slushy weather, turned out.
“I can’t imagine how many more might have come if the weather had been better,” Schiro said. “Some folks tell us they haven’t missed Winter Walk in the past 13 years, and no matter the weather, they won’t miss this one,” he added with a huge smile.
Schiro said, also with a huge grin, that durning the first Winter Walk, “We had just opened the West Wing. (Current Mayor) Rick Scalera was Santa. He refused to do it the next year because he wanted to have fun like everyone else,” he said.
“Some shops will open before 5,” said Ellen Thurston, board member and Winter Walk coordinator. “People come earlier and earlier to look around.”
Some favorites return year after year, according to Thurston. “There will be lots of dance and lots of music,” Thurston said, both in the shops and along the street.
“Hudson has become a real music city, with Musica and the newer Club Helsinki presenting wonderful new performers,” she said. “They attract a lot of young musicians here.”
Dance reigns once more under the curatorship of Elena Mosley. Performances at the PARC Foundation Gallery (330 Warren St.) include ballet from the Hudson Valley Academy of Performing Arts and also dancers from Roz’s Dance Works. Find Kuumba Dance and Drum and the Albany Berkshire Ballet at Sorted (357 Warren St.). The Wild Roses Belly Dance Troupe from the Hudson Valley Academy of Performing Arts can be seen in the window of Casa Urbana (525 Warren St.)
In the Hudson Opera House upstairs performance space (327 Warren St.), Third Rail Projects performs a site-specific durational performance installation called Beautiful Dreamer. This is performed without pause, and the audience can walk in at any time.
Club Helsinki will offer Tango lessons and Olde Hudson will present The Spinstress (Vanessa Baehr), a Hula Hoop performer, in its window.
Thurston said, with obvious pleasure, that 34 new businesses have opened on or near Warren Street since 2009. “There are very few empty store fronts,” she said.
“People are investing in Hudson,” Schiro said. “In this bad economy, that gives everyone hope.”
The shop windows, for some people, are the real Winter Walk draw. The merchants all try to outdo each other decorating their windows. All are gorgeous, while others, like the window at Ad Lib at 522 Warren St., are just a knockout.
Lou Blasingame and Don Friday, who own Ad Lib, have created fantastical creatures portraying characters in Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”The costumes are stunning, but the faces of the various personages are not to be believed. An absolute don’t miss!
In a charming what-goes-‘round story, Thurston said “The Dancing Doll,” a ballerina in a pink tutu, on pointe, with a huge key in her back, will appear in the window of Ornamentum, contemporary jewelry and design, at 506-506½ Warren St.
Ornamentum, owned by Stefan Friedmann and Laura Lapachin, was the original site of the Sternfeld Dance Studio, whose ballerina will appear in the window.
“The dancing doll winds down, stops and freezes in position. She is then re-wound with the big key and she dances again,” Thurston explained. “An entire generation of teens, who are now mothers, took dance lessons there. And, now their children are taking lesson at the dance studio’s Greenport location.”
The ever-popular wagon rides, at the Seventh Street Park and Fourth and Warren, will return.
And, of course, there’s Santa and Mrs. Claus. They’re welcomed at the 5 p.m. opening ceremony, then whisked to City Hall, stars of the Santa parade, where he will hear the dreams and wishes of children. The Santa parade is composed of wonderful characters: elves, frogs, angels, a snowman, a gingerbread boy, a ginger witch, Roger the Jester and many others.
“We’ve added some new characters, fluffy snowflakes and Marley’s ghost,” said Joe Herwick, deputy director of the opera house.
There are numerous tastings, Thurston said. Below Third, a group of business owners below Third Street on Warren, are presenting an Eggnog Challenge, with 12 different eggnog tastings.
“There will be jam, cheese, wine and hors d’oeuvre tastings,” Thurston said. She said there will be numerous outdoor food vendors for those who want to munch and move on.
Thurston, however, urged visitors who plan to stay after 8 p.m. for dinner, to make reservations or they could easily be disappointed. She said there will be plenty of free parking off Warren Street, which is closed for the event, but will reopen shortly after 8 p.m.
Thurston also advised people to dress warm and wear comfortable shoes – Warren Street, from the 7th Street Park to the river, is one mile long.
Thurston said all the galleries will be open, many with special exhibits.
She also encouraged visitors to wander off Warren onto the side streets for some delights, such as Verdigris, a tea house on South Third and Warren, and Musica, on North Fourth and Warren.
New this year will be miniature horses at the corner of Fifth and Warren, along with the requisite reindeer at the corner of Third and Warren.
Grand sponsor, for the fifth consecutive year, is Taconic Farms, a family-owned business in Columbia County.
Schiro said after Winter Walk ends there will be a Benefit Chili Dinner from 8 to 10 p.m. Tickets are $50 per person and reservations are advised since seating is limited. All proceeds benefit Winter Walk.
Further information may be obtained by calling (518) 822-1438 or by visitingwww.hudsonoperahouse.org for a program of events
Start the holiday season at Bear Mountain as our elves lead the kids in special activities, crafts, a holiday dinner, and a visit from Santa. Surprise your child with a special gift from Santa. $14.95 per Child; $16.95 per adult. For reservations please call (845)786-2731. 
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Guest Services, Inc. (GSI), a private hospitality company dedicated to excellence in food, hotel, resort, and recreation services is the management company for the Bear Mountain Inn & Conference Center. 
