Hometown Holidays Celebration in Glens Falls, NY

Stores will be open for holiday shopping – be sure to bring your list! Keep the holiday spirit going all through the night by mingling with costumed characters, reading Santa your wishlist and listening to carolers with a cup of hot cocoa in hand.

Enjoy the tree lighting and stay for the activities and attractions including: Visits with Santa & Mrs. Claus, refreshments and cocoa, live reindeer, trolley rides, musical performances, horse and wagon rides, children’s activities, costumed characters, holiday shopping, and more!

There will be a Window Display competition among downtown businesses and check out the Downtown Holiday Sale and Market! Downtown businesses will offer a Hometown Holidays special, a discount or food and drink special.

Stay tuned for the 2020 schedule! For an idea of what to expect, check out last year's details:

Friday, December 6, 2019 5 to 8 p.m.

Ceremonial Tree lighting at 5:45 p.m.

Gather at 5 p.m. on Friday, December 6, in City Park, along the Bay Street side of the library, to visit with friends and neighbors. There will be holiday music by DeeJay DuBray from Regional Radio Group and carolers from Glens Falls Community Theatre. Then cheer the start of the season with the ceremonial tree lighting at 5:45 p.m. 

Once the tree is lit, Santa will greet the crowd before being escorted by Veterans of our armed forces to Glens Falls National Bank where children can have their picture taken with the man in red and tell him their holiday wishes.

A map showing all of the holiday attractions will be shared online at glensfallscollaborative.com.

Saturday, December 7, 2019 Free Movie at the Charles R. Wood Theater

Grow your heart three sizes with the Whos of Whoville as you find the meaning of Christmas with a free showing of The Grinch at 12 p.m. at the Charles R. Wood Theater. The Charles R. Wood Theater is located at 207 Glen Street, Glens Falls, NY 12801.

Celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Glens Falls being named Hometown USA in 1944 by Look Magazine. The celebration begins at 2 p.m. at The Hyde Collection located at 161 Warren Street, Glens Falls, NY 12801

In collaboration with Hometown Holidays, the Hyde Collection partners with Glens Falls Symphony and The Folklife Center at the Crandall Public Library to present an afternoon of music and history.

There will be festive songs accompanied by piano that harken back to the heyday of Hometown USA. Performers include Glens Falls Symphony Maestro Charles Peltz and pianist Melissa L. Ferrie-Healy; Ian and Megan Ferris of Lyric Theatre Company from Burlington, VT; and Sing Sing Sing, the choir of Queensbury Senior Center.

Travel back in time to 1944 with a reproduction of Until it’s Over Over There, a live radio for broadcast for soldiers overseas. The show will recreate the designation of Glens Falls as Hometown USA and will feature letters between soldiers and their loved ones, music of the day, historic photographs and advertisements from that period.

The Hyde House will be decorated for the season and will offer an extended Hyde Collection Holiday Gift Shop.