And the Winners Are . . .

On Saturday afternoon, Hudson Hall announced the winners of the 2019 Winter Walk Window Decorating Contest! The contest celebrates the creativity and ingenuity of Hudson's independent retailers, restaurants, and galleries.

The "Best Overall" prize is a tie between "Best Old Timer" and "Best Newcomer." Lisa Durfee, proprietor of Five & Diamond, went small with big results to take "Best Old Timer," creating an elaborate and lovingly crafted three-story, multi-room doll house, replete with baroque detail that would likely make Ibsen envious. The "Best Newcomer" award goes to the newly launched satellite from Brooklyn, Nine Cakes. The boutique bakery cooked up a gravity-defying starlit peppermint motif hovering around a flocked white holiday tree, which appears to be glowing from within.

The judges also gave a "Most Heroic" honor shared by the City of Hudson, the Department of Public Works, and the National Guard for tirelessly plowing, scraping, and engaging in a fearless battle with the two-foot blanket of snow that made our streets equal parts picturesque and formidable this past week.

A special "Community Spirit" award goes to Stair Gallery, who pulled off a moving and triumphant visual tribute honoring the "Queen of Winter Walk" Ellen Thurston for her enduring love and support of Winter Walk and the Hudson community.

Winners: 2019 Winter Walk Window Decorating Contest

Most Eye-Catching  
Kasuri (1 Warren Street)

Most Elegant
Home/Made (119 Warren Street)

Best Place for Rip an Winkle to Fall Asleep
The Rosery (238 Warren Street)

Best Phoenix Rising Four Corners
Lawrence Park (260 Warren Street)
The Maker (302 Warren Street)
Steiner Sports (301 Warren Street)
Lili and Loo (259 Warren Street)

Best Window into a Winter Wonderland
Red Dot (321 Warren Street)

Most "Cultured": The Wonders of Greek Yoghurt
Hudson Hall (327 Warren Street) 
Windows by Wolf Scharf, Lilah and Aro Friedland

Best Backyard
BackBar (347 Warren Street)

Jazziest and Snazziest
John Doe Records (434 Warren Street)

Best Old Timer
Five & Diamond (502 Columbia Street)

Best Lighting or Most Dramatic Lighting
Ad Lib (522 Warren Street)

AND Ormamentum (506 Warren Street)

Most Community Spirit
Stair Galleries (549 Warren Street)

Most Stellar
Finch (555 Warren Street)

Best Dressed
De Marchin (620 Warren Street)

Most Inviting
Vasolow's Confectionary (741 Columbia Street)

Best Newcomer
Nine Cakes (748 Warren Street)