Winter Walk 2017

Next Saturday--December 2--Winter Walk returns for its 21st year.

Photo: Albert Gnidica

Winter Walk, presented each year by the Hudson Opera House, a.k.a. Hudson Hall, is Hudson's "largest, liveliest, and most colorful event of the year." As always, along the length of Warren Street, a cast of roving performers, carolers, costumed characters, and Zuumba flash mobbers will entertain folks on the street, while musicians and dancers perform in shops and shop windows. Worthy of note is Seano the Shakespearean Clown who with students from Montgomery C. Smith Intermediate School will present a hilarious performance that combines poetry, puppetry, parade, and play, developed in an after-school workshop at Hudson Hall.

Photo: Family Friendly Hudson Valley

On stage at Hudson Hall, choreographer Adam Weinert, with dancers Logan Kruger, Brett Perry, and Emma Sandall, will present Rip the Nut, a raucous Hudson Valley-inspired mashup of "Rip Van Winkle" and The Nutcracker Suite. 

This year, there are new features meant to lure visitors down to the western end of Warren Street. There will be a Where's George the Gingerbread Man? scavenger hunt through the shops and galleries of the BeLo 3rd District, and a traditional Ukrainian winter star sculpture/installation by Ukrainian-born Maryna Bilak Haughton at Warren and First streets. The colorful, brightly lighted star-shaped wooden structure, which will stand eight feet tall with eight rays emanating from the center, is an ancient symbol of balance, harmony, and equilibrium.

Photo: GotoHudson.net

As always, the event begins at 5 p.m. outside Hudson Hall. Harmony Project Hudson choristers will welcome Santa Claus, who will arrive at the hall in a horse-drawn wagon, and help him settle in the West Room to greet visitors and listen to children's holiday wishes. 

For more information about Winter Walk, or to volunteer to help with the preparations or be part of the festive evening, click here.  
COPYRIGHT 2017 CAROLE OSTERINK