Winter Walk: The Hudson Safe Edition Starts Dec. 5
Let’s address the obvious right at the top: Hudson’s Winter Walk just isn’t going to be the same this year. But before you go kvetching that yet another holiday tradition has to go by the wayside in 2020, Hudson Hall says: Not so fast! The lead player in the annual Winter Walk along Warren Street is nothing if not creative, pivoting and planning and assuring us that there will be a holiday celebration along Warren Street, re-envisioned as Winter Walk: The Hudson Safe Edition, Dec. 5-24.
“We have to get everyone through the new year,” said Tambra Dillon, Hudson Hall’s executive director. “We can’t have a street closure or mass gathering, but we wanted to keep the holiday spirit and community involvement.”
On Dec. 5, in place of the one single fun-filled night, businesses on Warren Street will debut their holiday displays, stores will be open late, Sax O’Claus will roam the streets playing holiday tunes, the beloved "Rip the Nut" (Adam Weinert’s production in which the Rip Van Winkle story is mashed up with the Nutcracker Suite) appears as a video projection at Hudson Hall, and fireworks will light up the sky from Promenade Hill. [Edited to update that fireworks have been canceled.] That’s just the beginning of the “20 Days of Festive Cheer.”
And because he’s in a high-risk population, Santa’s going to Zoom in from the North Pole. On Dec. 8, 9, 15 and 16, families will be allowed free timed-entry Zoom visits with Santa from a holiday-decorated room at Hudson Hall. Each child will receive a giftwrapped book to put under the tree at home. (Reservations open Dec. 5.)
Hanukkah will be celebrated with the customary menorah lighting Dec. 10-17, and on Dec. 12, the city will light the Christmas tree at the Seventh Street Park. It looked as if the twinkle lights up and down Warren Street might have to stay in their boxes this year, but the Hudson Development Corporation came up with the funds to save the holiday lights.
You can expect to see the usual lavishly decorated shop windows and Santa’s Village in the Seventh Street Park. There was some question about retaining the fireworks this season, Dillon said, but then they realized that the fireworks can be seen for miles, bringing a lot of pleasure near and far. Fireworks made the cut.
The goal, this year as in every year, is to support the businesses and community in Hudson, Dillon said. Shop local, eat local, while staying safe and distanced. Masks, of course, are required, but no one says you can’t go crazy with a holly jolly, over-the-top decorated mask. It’s Hudson, after all.
“It’s been heartwarming how excited people got when we said we would do Winter Walk in any shape or form,” Dillon said. “It’s such an entrenched and beloved tradition.”
At the time of this writing, Hudson Hall and Winter Walk partners were still cooking up activities, so check in with social media @HudsonHallNY, #HudsonWinterWalk throughout December for retail and restaurant highlights.
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