Holiday Lights, Festivals And Celebrations Fill The Mid-Hudson Valley Calendar

MID-HUDSON VALLEY, NY — With Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa festivities filling the December calendar, the problem may be deciding which events in Orange, Dutchess, and Ulster Counties to attend.

Outside these religious and cultural celebrations, there are plenty of holiday light shows, parades, fairs and festivals to attend in the Mid-Hudson Valley. Here are some to consider:

• Dec. 4-7/11-14/18-28: The Wonderland of Lights, Dutchess County Fairgrounds, Rhinebeck, 5 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
• Dec. 5: Village of Millbrook Parade of Lights, 6 p.m.
• Dec. 5: Snowflake Festival, Kingston, 6 p.m.
• Dec. 5: The City of Poughkeepsie Festival of Lights, Waryas Park, 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
• Dec. 5: Tin Barn Brewing Christmas Tree Lighting
• Dec. 6: Holidays in the Hamlet, Wallkill Public Library Lawn, 3 p.m. - 6 p.m.
• Dec. 6: Celebrations of Lights & Parade, Wappingers Falls, 5 p.m.-7:30 p.m. (lineup at 4:30 p.m.)
• Dec. 6/13: 4th Annual Christmas Market & Winter Wonderland at New Century, Port Jervis, 3 p.m.-8 p.m.
• Dec. 6/12-14/19-21: A Frosty Fest, Ulster Park, Fridays: starts at 6 p.m.; Saturdays: starts at 4:30 p.m.; Sundays: starts at 4:30 p.m.
• Dec. 10: 2025 Community Chanukah Party, Vassar Temple, Poughkeepsie, 11 a.m.-12:45 p.m
• Dec. 12: Light Up The Hamlet, Highland, 6 p.m.
• Dec. 12/13: Decemberfest, Eastdale Village Town Center, Poughkeepsie, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.
• Dec. 13: 6th Annual Festival of Wreaths Vendor & Craft Fair, Hudson, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
• Dec. 13: Red Hook's 5th Annual Christmas Parade of Lights, 6 p.m.
• Dec. 14: The Great Menorah Lego Build Chanukah Celebration, Chabad House, Monroe, 3 p.m.
• Dec. 14: Kol Yisrael, Newburgh
  • Hannukah Concert, 1:30 p.m.
  • "Latkes & Vodkas & Babkas," 3 p.m.
  • Community Giant Menorah Lighting, 4 p.m.
• Dec. 14-22: Hanukkah Celebration, Mohonk Mountain House, New Paltz
• Dec. 15: Tuxedo Chanukah Celebration, Tuxedo Train Station, Tuxedo, 5:30 p.m.
• Dec. 16: The Great Firetruck Gelt Drop, Chester Town Hall, Chester, 6 p.m
• Dec. 17: Chanukah Celebration and Gelt Drop, East Fishkill Town Hall, Hopewell Junction, 5:30 p.m.
• Dec. 17: The Chanukah Express, Chabad Ulster County, Kingston, 6 p.m.
• Dec. 19: Public Menorah Lighting, Chabad of Ulster County, Kingston, 1:30 p.m.-2 p.m.
• Dec. 20: Kwanzaa 2025, Hudson Hall, Hudson (Columbia County), 4 p.m.
• Until Dec. 21: The Real Santa Experience, Emmerich Tree Farm, Warwick, 5 p.m.-8:30 p.m
• Dec. 26: Town of Wallkill Kwanzaa Celebration, Galleria at Crystal Run Center Court, 1 p.m.-3 p.m.
• Dec. 27: Celebrations & Traditions of Kwanzaa, Newburgh Free Library, Newburgh, 1 p.m.-3 p.m.
• Dec. 27: The 6th Annual Margaret Wade-Lewis Center Kwanzaa Celebration, Redeemer Lutheran Church, New Paltz, 1 p.m.
• Until Dec. 27: Kevin McCurdy's Holiday Spirit Festival, Wappingers Falls
• Until Dec. 28: Peace, Love, & Lights, Bethel, 5 p.m.-10 p.m.
• Until Dec. 30: The Polar Express, Kingston
• Until Jan. 3: Holiday Bricktacular Event | LEGOLAND New York Resort, Goshen

As you plan your calendar, here are some key dates to consider:

• Hanukkah, the eight-day Jewish "festival of lights," celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers and fried foods, begins at sundown on Dec. 14 and continues until sundown on Dec. 22. The dates vary every year.

• Christmas, of course, is always Dec. 25.

• Kwanzaa, a weeklong celebration primarily held in the United States to honor African heritage and African-American culture, is observed from Dec. 26-Jan. 1, culminating with gift-giving and a lavish feast. The dates of this holiday do not change.