Winter Walk
Saturday December 5, 2009
5:00 - 8:00 p.m.
13TH ANNUAL WINTER WALK KICKS OFF HOLIDAY SEASON IN HUDSON,
NY
That sound you hear is the holiday season shifting into gear in Hudson,
NY. The annual extravaganza known as Winter Walk bursts on the scene
at 5 pm Saturday evening, December 5th on Hudson's historic main street
and beyond.
Produced by the Hudson Opera House, the 13th annual Winter Walk is a
hip and cheerful street festival that combines the traditional and the
quirky to present a unique take on the holiday season.
Winter Walk is acknowledged as a major holiday event in the Hudson Valley,
with visitors coming from near and far to join Hudson residents in the
celebration. Some arrive well before the announced hour to get a good
parking spot and a head start on viewing Hudson shop owners' famous
holiday windows. This aspect of the festival gains a considerable boost
this year from artist-decorated windows in the blocks below Third Street.
The windows are organized by the BeLo3rd organization and artist Gretchen
Kelly around the theme of "The Twelve Days of Christmas."
Things start early when the D.A.R. opens the Robert Jenkins House at
3 pm and the Shiloh Baptist Church Choir sings on the steps of the church
at 4 pm. At 4:45, the Santa Parade starts at Front Street, making its
way uptown to City Hall where the famous Mr. & Mrs. Claus will hear
children's wishes and dispense free gifts.
From First to Eighth Street, shops and galleries will be open and many
offer entertainment and refreshments for visitors. At least 20 shops
are offering live music ranging from the Chatham High School String
Quartet to Ampersand's soul-pleasing folk music and a contingent of
other classical, jazz and folk artists. Ten flutists from the Capital
Area Flute Club will be playing at Historical Materialism at 601 Warren
Street at 6 pm.
The Coxsackie-Athens Community Band gives its annual concert at the
First Presbyterian Church at Fourth & Warren on Winter Walk night. Not
to be outdone, KINK (Kids in the Kitchen) from the Youth Center have
formed a Kitchen Band to march with Santa.
On the street you'll find the African drum beats of Diata Diata, good
old Saxophone Santa, a bagpiper, accordion players, the NYC subway performers
Mecca Bodega, Victorian Carolers and various other random acts of singing.
Both the fine arts and crafts are available for viewing and gift-giving
pleasure, from the new Davis Orton Gallery at 114 Warren to the venerable
Carrie Haddad Gallery at 622 Warren. And walkers will have a rare chance
to see Mihail Chemiakin's new exhibition, Not Made for Walking, upstairs
at the Museum of the Imagination, 217 Warren.
In a hurry? Try Stageworks 15-minute version of Dickens' "A Christmas
Carol" performed at the J. Damiani Gallery (237 Warren) at 5:30, 6:30
and 7:30.
Dance reigns once again, curated by Elena Mosley from Operation Unite.
Kuumba Dance & Drum, the Albany-Berkshire Ballet, and the Hudson Valley
Academy of the Performing Arts all perform at 330 Warren Street, where
a schedule will be posted. The Sternfeld Dance Studio's dancing doll
is making its thirteenth appearance, and for a touch of the exotic,
there are belly dancers and a Can-Can Girl performing in shop windows!
In the Hudson Opera House second floor performance space, UpRiver/Downtown
Dance Company, directed by Sondra Loring and Jill Ann Schwartz, performs
"The Matter of Dance: Who? Where? Why?" And if you are longing to dance
yourself, try a free salsa lesson with Carlos Osario at Space 360.
The usual unusual characters will be on the street. The Gingerbread
Witch, giant puppets, a Walking Snowman, and the Victorian lady and
gentleman mingle with elves and angels to create a festive scene. The
ever-popular Corey Cox as the stilt-walking toy soldier and Roger Reed
as Roger the Jester are also on hand.
Animals have their place at Winter Walk too. Bob Smith's live reindeer
and Tammy Barnard's mini-horses will be making appearances, and George
Weaver will be giving horse-and-wagon rides around Seventh Street Park.
After a walk around Santa's Village, a visit above Seventh Street is
in order. A coffee at Parlor (formerly Muddy Cup), or a bite to eat
at Wunderbar or Wasabi will warm the body, while choosing a kitten for
adoption at Animalkind will warm the cockles of your heart.
Slightly off the beaten path, the County Courthouse, designed by Warren
and Wetmore, will be open to show off its recent renovation.
Restaurants (reservations recommended!) are open and many have special
menus for quicker service. If speed is your main concern, food vendors
on the street will dispense chili, coffee and donuts, baked goods, candy
apples, soup, hot cider, hot dogs, hamburgers, pulled pork sandwiches,
kettle korn, Italian sandwiches, and more.
Twenty new businesses have opened on or near Warren Street since last
year's Winter Walk. Though Warren Street is known for its antique shops,
the new businesses reflect a continuing diversity, adding retail, food
establishments, personal services, and the building and renovation trades
to the mix.
Winter Walk's official hours are from 5 to 8 pm, but many shops are
open far beyond the final flair of the fireworks from Promenade Hill
at 8 pm.
Several "after" events are worth noting-a dinner benefit at the Opera
House to help defray costs of Winter Walk and the "World Music Extravaganza
II" offering up the tango/jazz duo of Jonathan Talbott and Seamus Maynard,
the Ramblin' Jug Stompers, and Japanese songstress Yakuri Roja, at Savoia,
214 Warren Street. If the traditional is your choice, try Walking the
dog Theater's one-man version of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" at 360
Warren Street. All these events start at 8 pm.
Visitors to Winter Walk need to be aware of new traffic patterns and
new parking possibilities being instituted this year. All of Warren
Street, from Front Street to 7th Street, will be closed to traffic and
parking during Winter Walk. Only 7th Street and Front Street will be
used for through traffic.
Trucks will be re-routed around the city for the evening. Between 5
pm and 8 pm, cars can use all entry points to the City, but must use
Union Street or Columbia Street to head toward 7th Street or Front Street
to cross town.
Cars can park in municipal lots on Warren, Union or Columbia Streets,
and in other City- owned lots, including the public parking lot at the
Consolidated Firehouse at 7th and Washington Streets and the waterfront
parking lots at Henry Hudson Riverfront Park. Parking can also be found
at the former Schroeder's car dealership on Green Street.
Free Trolleys will run up and down town on Columbia Street from 5 pm
to 8:30 pm, and will make stops at the waterfront parking lots and the
Consolidated Firehouse lot.
"Gia"
photo by Elizabeth Coleman
The event is made possible with support from the Grand Sponsor, Taconic, as well as the City of Hudson, Hudson Development Corporation, Columbia Hudson Partnership, Columbia County Tourism, AirTran, Hudson River Bank and Trust Foundation, Weaver's Trolley, Vasilow's Confectionery, the Register-Star, the Daily Freeman, and 98.5The Cat. Contributors include Ca'Mea Restaurant, Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, O&G Industries, Pattison Koskey Howe & Bucci, Rapport Meyers Whitbeck Shaw & Rodenhausen, Red Dot, Swoon Kitchenbar, and other donors too numerous to mention. The event is also made possible by ongoing support from the NYS Council on the Arts, The Dyson Foundation, The Educational Foundation of America, Cowles Charitable Trust, JM Kaplan Fund, Children's Foundation of Columbia County, First Niagara Bank Foundation, and Bank of America Foundation.
