Memories of Winter Walk: Part 8

Winter Walk has been a holiday tradition in Hudson since 1997, so there are Hudsonians, now adults, who experienced the festive event as children. Gossips asked one of those people, Dylan Meyer, who was six when the tradition started, to share his childhood memories of Winter Walk.  

When I first thought to write out memories of Winter Walk, nothing immediately jumped out at me. Most of the memories are a blur--bundled walkers enjoying the decorated storefronts, steaming styrofoam cups of cider, the miniature horses (or were they actual reindeer at one point?). I remember waiting in line for what felt like ages to meet Santa at City Hall. There must have been dozens of other kids present, but my memory is not of them or of ever seeing Santa, only of waiting and waiting, and more importantly of my reward: a brand-new copy of Bart Simpson's Guide to Life.

Unlike Bart, I was a strict adherent to rules and the wishes of my parents, and so one year I sat dutifully in a shop window and listened to Mother Goose read nursery rhymes and stories to me and the other kids gathered around her rocking chair. More vivid in my mind, however, are the snacks at that particular venue--savory cookies and pretzel rods dipped in chocolate, both completely new to me and quite eye-opening. I really remember the important things.

But all of these memories are just flashes--fleeting and fuzzy with not much behind them. However, last year I was able to attend my first Winter Walk in a decade, and walking east toward Fifth Street, I was struck all of a sudden with a heavy sense of nostalgia. Across from Nolita, the Badillas were performing, and the sounds of their drums and the call of their voices hit me right in the gut. I was home.