Hudson’s favorite winter street festival returns for its 26th year bigger and brighter than ever – rain or shine! Take an evening stroll down the mile-long length of historic Warren Street and enjoy performances, art installations, family-friendly attractions, local food and drinks, holiday shopping, fireworks and festive cheer.
THE NIGHT BEGINS…
Enjoy a moment of reflection and celebration at 5:00pm as the bells of the First Presbyterian Church ring 26 times in honor of the 26th Anniversary of Winter Walk. Then 7th Street Park lights up with a ceremonial Holiday Tree lighting thanks to Friends of the Public Square.
WELCOME SANTA TO CITY HALL!
Be at City Hall (520 Warren Street) at 5:00pm to greet Santa as he arrives in a horse and carriage! The children of Harmony Project Hudson will welcome Santa with a song before he heads inside to hear all your holiday wishes. Whether they’ve been naughty or nice, each child receives a free gift-wrapped book.
THE FUTURE AND THE PAST AT HUDSON HALL…
Warm your hands and hearts at Hudson Hall (327 Warren Street) while enjoying an exhibition of student artwork from area schools, then head upstairs to relax in front of some of your favorite holiday episodes of nostalgic television on Hudson Hall’s cinema-size silver screen.
DANCERS, PRANCERS, AND IN STORE PERFORMANCES
Shop windows come alive this Winter Walk with dance performances curated by Rachel Kappel. Don’t forget to pop into stores to catch free live music up and down Warren Street. Check the guide for more information.
DAVON & FRIENDS ON THE SPARK STAGE
Head to the Spark Stage (364 Warren Street) at 6:30pm to catch a fabulous one-hour Winter Walk dance show by local performance artist Devon and friends.
ROVING STREET PERFORMERS & ATTRACTIONS
Acadia Rae, Canaan Chorale, Carolers Holly, Andy & Ivy, Davon & Friends, DJ Ronnie Rave, Fortune Telling with Lou Craft & Lindsay Herr, Haus of Extreme Drag Queen Caroling, Hudson Festival Orchestra Brass Quartet, Ice Yacht “Manhasset”, MMS, Key of Q, Krampus, Isis Vermouth and Merrie Cherrie, The Robyn Party, Roger the Jester, Roz’s Dance Works, Sax O’ Claus, Seano’s Circus Theatricks, Sternfeld Dance Studio, St. Julian’s Jugglers, Tivoli Players, Trixie the Clown, Vanessa Baer as the Hula-Hoop Spinstress, Victorian Strollers, Victorian Voices, Wolfy “Jef” Scharf…and more!!! Check the guide for more information.
ESPECIALLY FOR THE LITTLE ONES
Bailiwick Farm Petting Zoo and Pony Rides, Camphill Bird Puppet, B. Boho Body Art Face Painting at Hudson Hall, Horse and Carriage Rides, Santa at City Hall
AND, TO END…
Enjoy the fireworks at 8pm! A special thank you to Legion Fireworks for their many years of participation
STILL CHILLY? COME FOR CHILI!
Hudson Hall honors its Directors Emeritae and longtime Winter Walk supporters Elena Mosley and Ellen Thurston with a special Winter Walk “Chilly” Dinner Fundraiser at Hudson Hall following the fireworks. Tickets are $100, with proceeds going towards producing Winter Walk each year. Click here for more information.
WINTER WALK F.A.Q
WHEN DOES WARREN STREET CLOSE?
From 4:30pm to 8:30pm on December 3, all of Warren Street is closed to traffic and parking. Please be aware that the City also blocks off access to Warren Street from side streets.
The City begins to clear Warren Street around 4pm. Unauthorized vehicles will be towed starting at 4:45pm.
WHERE CAN I PARK?
Parking is available in municipal lots on Union or Columbia Streets, the John L Edwards Elementary School, 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. All County lots are also available.
The Columbia Memorial Hospital parking garage at the top of Columbia Street is available, and paid parking is available at the Amtrak long-term parking lot on Front Street, across from the station.
WHERE IS SANTA?
Visit Santa at City Hall (520 Warren Street). All children receive a free, gift wrapped book.
IS THERE FOOD AT WINTER WALK?
Yes! In addition to the many wonderful restaurants in Hudson, food vendors will be offering an array of delicious savory and sweet food for purchase. Check the guide for more information.
IS WINTER WALK DOG FRIENDLY?
It is up to each owner to decide what’s best for their four legged friends, but we do not recommend bringing dogs to Winter Walk.
HOW CAN IT BE FREE?
Hudson Hall relies on the support of the community to keep Winter Walk a free event. Consider making a donation here.
GET INVOLVED IN WINTER WALK 2022!
Whether it’s donning a costume to animate the street on December 3 or aligning your brand with Hudson’s largest and most beloved community event by becoming an official sponsor, help make the 26th Anniversary of Winter Walk the most successful yet.
Click above to connect with us and learn more about our volunteer and sponsorship opportunities.
To stay in the loop on all things Winter Walk, join our email list here and follow us on Instagram.
WINTER WALK ARTIST GRANT RECIPIENTS
In Alphabetical Order:
Fashion designer and artist Loki Anthony is creating a one-of-a-kind costume for a local ballet dancer to wear while performing in the window of Lightforms Art Center (743 Columbia St).
Drag queen Meredith Brick leads a trio of singers who will delight revelers along Warren Street with their traditional and contemporary caroling.
Beautiful Racket, a group who offers music programming that encourages self-expression and empowerment, presents a showcase of young vocalists and spoken word artists from the Hudson Youth Department at the First Presbyterian Church.
Lou Craft and Lindsay Herr (aka Lady Lou and Lady Lindsay) offer Winter Walkers the chance to see into their future (or hear a good fable?) with Fortunes for the Future: Forthright and Fraudulent, a fun and quirky take on the art of the psychic at the Pocket Park across from 327 Warren Street.
Inspired by the region’s railway tradition, artist Jack Dylan recreates a bucolic scene of animated vintage train cars with a backdrop of the cat-like Catskill Mountains in the window of 441 Warren Street.
Diata Diata Folkloric Theatre’s percussion ensemble led by the fantastically talented Badila family perform at the corner of 5th and Warren Streets.
DJ Ronnie Rave, who creates rave-like experiences with lights, sounds and great dance music, will turn the pocket park next to FINCH hudson into a dance party for all ages.
Puppet artists Rachel Drozdowicz and Wren Bytheway activate the gigantic Winter Bird created by Camphill Hudson for Winter Walk.
Flow Chart Foundation celebrates Audre Lorde‘s poetry and writing through a multi-part installation in the Foundation’s “Incident Report” windows at 348 Warren Street and on the façade of 328 Warren Street.
Harmony Project Hudson to greet Santa at City Hall with a festive medley of holiday songs.
The Hudson Area Library to curate a window highlighting the wonderful resources of its History Room at 323 Warren Street.
The Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society to curate a window display to highlight why this beacon of light has been deemed one of Seven to Save by the New York State Preservation Society at 620 Warren Street.
HFO Brass Quartet, led by local veteran conductor and artistic director Gwen Gould, presents a Holiday Sing featuring Christmas carols, Hanukkah songs, and Kwanzaa songs, culminating in a Hallelujah Chorus in front of 441 Warren Street.
Dance artist Rachel Kappel to curate Dancers & Prancers, featuring dozens of dancers in shop windows and along the street. Participating dancers and groups include Davon & Friends, Sondra Loring, Elena Mosley and Operation Unite NY, Roz’s Dance Works, Sternfeld Dance Studio, Hudson Valley Performing Arts Center, Zumba with Paula and The Spark of Hudson.
LikeMinded Objects hosts a group t-shirt waste weaving activation in their storefront at 344 Warren Street. The project was developed alongside collaborators Franny Capone and Spark of Hudson in 2021 to extend the life of discarded materials alongside the mission of creating local jobs. Visitors are invited to bring their own discarded t-shirts and to engage in weaving on the sidewalk in front of the store.
Jazz fusion quartet Pocket Merchant performs an hour of all-new original compositions composed by Alden Slack and Adriana Tampasis for Winter Walk 2022.
OutHudson – a LGTBQIA+ nonprofit organization representing the Mid-Hudson Valley – presents legendary Hudson Valley queen Isis Vermouth as Krampus.
To highlight the adaptive reuse of the Crescent Building (750 Warren) into a vibrant community resource and cultural space, Winter Walkers can view a sculpture installation through the windows curated by Kris Perry and Dan McCabe.
Theater company Tivoli Players brings a cast of colorful characters from their work-in-progress show, Curiouser and Curiouser, a dreamy adaptation of Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, to entertain the crowds at Winter Walk.
Kathleen Vance and Daniel Aycock to create Winter Wonderland, a winter themed exhibition of miniature sculptures, paintings, drawings, and photographs, and a large-scale sculptural installation by Thomas Broadbent featuring projected local wildlife in the window of 727 Warren Street.
Designer, drawer, installation artist, musician, and master screen printer Jef “Wolfy” Scharf returns with his unique take on a holiday shop – where all the gifts will be free and created using repurposed materials using images from the Hudson Hall archive.
Trixie Starr, aka Ms. Trixolina Clauzone, Santa’s bitter ex-wife, is back! Sit on Ms. Clauzone’s lap and have your picture taken while serenaded with carols by performer Ophelia Nightly.
Trixie the Clown to create balloon creations that are sure to delight any young Winter Walker.
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR WINTER WALK SPONSORS
Grand Sponsor
Supporters:
Baba Louie’s Sourdough Pizza, Columbia County Tourism, The Spark of Hudson, STAIR Galleries, TKG Real Estate, Wunderbar, Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, Clove & Creek, Ed Herrington Inc., Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty, Hudson Home, Lili and Loo, Merchants Social, Nine Cakes, Peggy Anderson Associates, Rivertown Lodge, Sarah Lipsky & Timothy Doyle, The Wick Hotel, Stewart’s Foundation, Williams Lumber, Flowerkraut, Fox Pest Control, UNRACKED, Bar Bene, Carrie Haddad Gallery, Cold Spring Tree Farm; Kody & Jo Pinkowski Friendly City Creative Club, Hudson Clothier, The Second Show, Spotty Dog Books & Ale, Susan Eley Fine Art LLC, Tradewinds, Trustco, Bank, Valley Variety, West Indies Natural Food & Grocery, Bob Michel & Jean Warshaw, 510 Warren Street Gallery, MODERN on the HUDSON, Tanzy’s
Special Thanks
Mayor Kamal Johnson, Asst. Mayor Michael Hofmann, COARC, Common Council President Tom DePietro, The Cascades, Dep. of Public Works, Elenor McKinney, Big Top Portable Toilets, Greenport Fire
and Rescue, Hudson Brewing Co., Hudson Fire Department, Hudson Police Department, Hudson Youth Department, Samascott Orchards, The Maker Cafe, Tisha Mulligan, W&B Golf Carts, Wm. Farmer & Sons
Media Sponsors:
Learn About Winter Walk’s 25th Anniversary
Winter Walk returned to its beloved street festival format in 2021 to celebrate 25 years as Hudson’s favorite winter celebration!
On Saturday, December 4 from 5 – 8pm, Winter Walk lit up the early December night with stunning storefront displays, roaming carolers, street performers, food, drinks, and a magical fireworks display from the Hudson River.
Hudson Hall first produced Winter Walk in 1997 to help bring foot traffic back to Warren Street after a long period of decline. Today, Winter Walk encompasses the entire mile-long stretch of Hudson’s main street, rings Seventh Street Park, spills over to the side streets, and now extends down to Front Street and the waterfront. Learn more about Winter Walk’s origins here, courtesy of Ellen Thurston.
Winter Walk 2021 focused on outdoor attractions that could be safely enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities. The lineup of street performers and attractions included:
Aly’s Ponies & Barnyard Friends, Arcadia Rae, Beautiful Racket, Canaan Chorale, Circus Theatricks with Seano, Crazy Christine Balloons, Diata Diata Drumming, Harmony Project Hudson, Hi-Beam, Holly Andy Ivy, Hudson City School District Band Program, Hudson Festival Orchestra Holiday Sing, Hudson High Marching Band, Ice Yacht: The Vixen, Key of Q, Krampus, Living Large Draft Horse & Carriage Rides, Orcapelicans, Roger the Jester, Sax O’Claus, Sean The Prankster Magician, St. Julian’s Jugglers…and more!
City Hall (520 Warren Street) hosted Santa Claus! The jolly little elf was on hand for one-on-one, socially-distanced consultations with the little ones. Whether they’d been naughty or nice, Santa presented each child with a FREE gift-wrapped, age-specific book to help make their Christmas dreams come true.
GET INVOLVED IN WINTER WALK 2021!
Whether it’s donning a costume to animate the street on December 4 or aligning your brand with Hudson’s largest and most beloved community event by becoming an official sponsor, help make the 25th Anniversary of Winter Walk the most successful yet.
Click below to connect with us and learn more about our volunteer and sponsorship opportunities.
HOW CAN IT BE FREE?
Hudson Hall relies on the support of the community to keep Winter Walk a free event. Consider making a donation here.
To keep updated on future Winter Walk events, join our email list here and follow us on Instagram.
Contributing Sponsors
Bob Michel & Jean Warshaw, Flowerkraut, Frank & Maria Hadley, Mane Street Hairstyles, Manifest Boutique, Sarah Lipsky & Timothy Doyle, Tradewinds, Isaan Thai Star, The Second Show, and WB GolfCart
Special thanks to Adam H. Weinert and the Waterfront Wednesdays crew, Deborah D’Arcy, JD Urban, Hillary France, Hudson Youth Department, Mayor Kamal Johnson, Mayoral Aide Michael Hoffman, Operation Unite NY, Rich Volo, Victoria Rowan, and to the many local businesses and community members whose support and participation has made Winter Walk Hudson’s biggest, brightest and most festive event of the year!
Thanks also to Myron Polenberg for the Winter Walk 25th Anniversary poster design.
Watch Winter Walk’s 25th Anniversary
- Hudson Hall’s programming is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the Governor and the New York Legislature.