Overview:
"It's A Wonderful Night in Turners Falls" is returning for the 12th year, featuring several businesses open late and events scheduled to celebrate the holiday season.
MONTAGUE — To celebrate the holiday season, “It’s A Wonderful Night in Turners Falls” will return on Friday, Dec. 12, with businesses open late and activities to ring in the season, along with a visit from Santa Claus.
Businesses along Avenue A will stay open late for an evening of holiday festivities and shopping. The event is hosted by RiverCulture, the municipal program geared toward bolstering Montague’s creative economy.
The Great Falls Discovery Center at 2 Avenue A will host an all-ages make-your-own bird feeder activity from 4 to 8 p.m. Staff from the Discovery Center will talk about which types of bird feeders are best for what birds and hot chocolate will be served.
Then, from 5 to 7 p.m., the Carnegie Library at 201 Avenue A will host a holiday card-making session. This is open to all ages and supplies will be provided.
Before Santa arrives at Spinner Park, The Brick House Community Resource Center, 24 Third St., will host a family dance party at 5:15 p.m., led by Marcy Gregoire of Under the Tree Arts and Anna Hendricks of Great Falls Creative Movement.
“In past years, we’ve done craft shows [where] people bring their crafts and use the space to sell, and this year, they asked us to come up with ideas, so we came up with the family dance night,” said Brick House Executive Director Thomas Taaffe.
From his perspective in the nonprofit sphere, Taaffe said this annual event is a “warm and wonderful opportunity” for community members to enjoy businesses and activities in their own backyard.
“It’s an opportunity for local businesses to put themselves out there and sell before the holidays,” he said. “Turners Falls is changing, new people have moved in, and it’s an opportunity for the downtown to introduce themselves.”
From the dance party, attendees can head down to Spinner Park to greet Santa Claus as he arrives at 6:30 p.m. to collect letters from the Magic Mailbox. Guests will be treated to cookies and hot cider.
For those seeking to continue their holiday shopping, LOOT found + made, at 62 Avenue A, will be open from 5 to 8 p.m. Children under the age of 14 can spin the LOOT treasure wheel to win free prizes.
At The Finders Collective at 102 Fourth St., a book, art and merchandise sale will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. to benefit both the collective and Great Falls Books Through Bars, a volunteer group that sends books to prisoners.
Later in the evening, the opening night of “Welcome Yule: A Midwinter Celebration” will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Shea Theater Arts Center, 71 Avenue A.
Other events include a DJ set at Waterway Arts at 102 Avenue A; holiday drinks, small plates and movies at Dreamhouse Restaurant at 37 Third St. from 5 to 8 p.m.; and music by songwriter Eleanor Levine at 9:30 p.m. at The Rendezvous, 78 Third St.
The weekend will also feature a number of holiday events, including a Santa Claus tour of the five villages on Saturday, Dec. 13, sponsored by the Montague Center Fire Department.
For the tour, Santa will arrive on a Montague Center fire truck at the Montague Center Common at 1:30 p.m. before traveling to Lake Pleasant’s Rutters Park at 2 p.m., then to the Millers Falls Library at 2:30 p.m., and concluding the tour at the Montague Public Safety Complex at 3:15 p.m. All times are approximate.
For more information on It’s a Wonderful Night in Turners Falls and other holiday events, visit the RiverCulture website at tinyurl.com/2mscftve.