Downtown Delights: Dec. 2 Holiday FestivitiesBy Susan Bush
12:00AM / Thursday, December 01, 2005
North Adams – The downtown will be a hub of holiday sparkle and light on Dec. 2, beginning with a traditional tree-lighting celebration. Mayor John Barrett III will “turn on the lights†at 5:30 p.m.; vocalist Diane Maynard is expected to perform several holiday carols. The Drury High School Band is scheduled to perform and a community sing-along is part of the event agenda.
“Santa Claus†and “Mrs. Claus†are set to visit the tree-lighting celebration aboard the North Adams Trolley. The Claus’ will not be empty-handed; “goodie bags†filled with candy canes, coloring books and crayons will be given to the first 500 children at the event.
Hot chocolate will be sold during the event by members of the First Congregational Church UCC youth group. The tree-lighting celebration is free.
Special events will continue throughout the evening. Downtown merchants have planned entertainment and merchandise sales, and activities are scheduled at the Western Gateway Heritage State Park.
The trolley will transport folks for free from the downtown to the state park from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m..
At The Western Gateway Heritage State Park
“Holiday Café Night†is scheduled at the Museum of History and Science. Sponsored by the museum and the North Adams Historical Society, the event includes a live reading of the Truman Capote classic story “A Christmas Memory.†Robert Campanile will begin the reading at 7 p.m.. The museum gift shop will open at 6 p.m. for shopping and all gift shop items will be on sale. Free refreshments will be available. Western Gateway park shops including Tala’s Quilt Shop, Heritage Antiques, International Outlet, and the Freight Yard Pub restaurant will be open during the evening.
Main Street Merriment
Downtown shops will be sharing in the holiday spirit with music, food samplings, and more. Americana folk musician Ric Powers is set to perform at Papyri Books on Main Street; the bookstore is also offering 10 percent off of any new book order placed between Nov. 25 and Dec. 23.
Suncatcher Glass at 63 Main St. will host a stained-glass show and a special picture frame offer. Those who bring a photo-sized frame to the shop may have glass for the frame cut for free.
Galadriel’s Boutique, 105 Main St. will host a tarot card reading beginning at 5:30 p.m., and fiddle player Cassandra Cleghorn is scheduled to perform at the boutique beginning at 7 p.m..
Free gourmet food samples will be offered at Moulton’s General Store, 77 Main St., from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m..
Persnickety Toys, 13 Eagle St., will offer visits with “Santa Claus†from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m..
“The Nightmare Before Christmas†movie will be shown for free at 7 p.m. at the First Congregational Church Assembly Hall.
Gallery 51 Art Preview
Gallery 51, 51 Main St., will host a special free art exhibit/preview from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.. The exhibit features artwork included in an “Arts For Arts Sake†Dec. 9 silent auction. Over 45 regional artists donated art for the fundraiser, which benefits scholarships for the Northern Berkshire Creative Arts program. The preview is free and open to the public.
The silent auction will be held from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., Dec. 9., at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts campus. A $25 auction admission fee can be used toward any auction art purchase. Auction tickets will be available at the Dec. 2 preview event.
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