Above: A decorated storefront in Narrowsburg in 2013. Photo by John of Catskills Photography, shared in the Watershed Post Flickr pool.
Now that it's the first week of December, holiday events are legion across the Catskills. There are craft markets and festivals, concerts and carolers, and Santa is popping up in Roxbury, Bethel and Schoharie. Here's what to do this weekend.
DELAWARE COUNTY
SUNY Delhi will host a Holiday Bazaar at the Farrell Center on Friday, Dec. 4 from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m.
You’ll find locally made products of all sorts, along with music, holiday treats and the Great Elf Himself (Mr. Claus, of course) at the town-wide First Light Celebration in Roxbury, taking place on Saturday, Dec. 5 from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. at locations around town. Between 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m., the Roxbury Library Association hosts its annual Holiday Bazaar, while the Roxbury Arts Group is hosting a Local Arts Market from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. At 5 p.m., join friends and neighbors on the corner of Main Street and Bridge Street to “Light Up Roxbury,” and then bring a dish to the potluck community holiday party at 5 p.m. at the Roxbury Arts Center.
The Friends of Music in Stamford are hosting a free holiday concert by VOCI, the chamber singers of SUNY Oneonta, on Sunday, Dec. 6 at 3 p.m. at the Stamford United Methodist Church on Main Street.
GREENE COUNTY
The Annual Holiday Bazaar is coming to the Second Reformed Church in Coxsackie on Saturday, Dec. 5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with home-baked goodies, handmade gifts, attic treasures, books and more.
The Agroforestry Resource Center in Acra is hosting a Forest Farmers’ Market on Saturday, Dec. 5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with soup, chili, sweets, live music, holiday caroling, and a host of holiday gifts and crafts from the forest, including native materials ornaments, honey, maple, wares from local farms and botanicals and gifts from regional craftspeople.
SCHOHARIE COUNTY
Christmastime in Schoharie brings Santa, a holiday bazaar, wagon rides, carolers, a Christmas-tree lighting and lots more during a two-day celebration that begins on Friday, Dec. 4 and runs through Saturday, Dec. 5 in the village of Schoharie.
SULLIVAN COUNTY
This is holiday shopping weekend at the Market Sheds at the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts in Bethel. On Saturday, Dec. 5 and Sunday, Dec. 6, the sheds will be packed with local craft and food makers; you can get photos with Santa and the Elves and create a family art project on a barn board in the Event Gallery. Shopping will be open from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., and at 4 p.m. both days they’ll host a showing of “The Muppet Christmas Carol.”
Livingston Manor will be full of model trains on Saturday, Dec. 5 during its Holiday Trains On Main event, with model trains on view at many locations in town and a special presentation about railroad history at the Catskill Art Society’s Laundry King event space at 1 p.m. Enter to win a “Boxcar of Goodies” filled with gifts donated by local businesses.
Also in Livingston Manor, Morgan Outdoors is hosting a wine and cheese reception for its Holiday Duck Print Exhibit and Sale to benefit Ride 2 Survive, a ride service for cancer patients, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 5.
ULSTER COUNTY
The second annual Phoenicia Holiday Craft and Gift Show will be held at Parish Hall in Phoenicia on Saturday, Dec. 5 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Featuring fine craftsmen and edible treats.
The 25th annual Craft Fair of the Unison Arts and Learning Center will offer the wares of some exceptionally practiced craftsfolk at the New Paltz Middle School on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.
The Gifted Handmade Market comes to High Meadow School in Stone Ridge on Saturday, Dec. 5 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with 25 artisans and vendors, cocoa, a pop-up cafe and a holiday photo booth.
The Folk, Chili & Craft Holiday Festival comes to the Pine Hill Community Center on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 10 a.m., combining a revival of the Pine Hill Folk Festival with the center’s annual chili cook-off and fundraiser and holiday vendors.
On Saturday, Dec, 5 at 8 p.m., Liam Robinson and Jean Rohe will perform a Christmas concert and singalong at the Empire State Railway Museum in Phoenicia. Robinson and Rohe will perform lesser-known Christmas music such as the German tune ”Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming,” and “Mary Had a Baby,” which some believe was written by former slaves from South Carolina's Sea Islands.
