Dreading the traditional start of the holiday shopping season this year? Looking for more charm and family fun after Thanksgiving?
Downtown Niantic and Flanders again promise to offer the more Currier and Ives approach with the fifth annual Holiday Stroll on Saturday, Nov. 29, from 3 to 8 p.m.
The family-friendly day features horse-drawn carriage rides, carolers, sips of hot cider and cocoa, and the arrival of Santa on a shiny red fire truck to the town green in time for a tree lighting ceremony at 5 p.m. on Liberty Green in the heart of Niantic Village.
The event, organized by Main Street Niantic, is designed by volunteers and local merchants who join forces each year to capture the spirit of the season in a picturesque small-town celebration, while still encouraging holiday shopping.
Businesses from all over East Lyme, including the Flanders corridor, are involved in this year’s stroll, according to Rachel Rinoski, co-chair of the Holiday Stroll promotions committee with Brandy Kolmer, both board members of Niantic Main Street.
Close to 30 businesses have signed up to participate, from local merchants and restaurants offering specials and discounts, to companies sponsoring the horse-drawn carriage rides provided by Foxglove Farm in Lyme.
“All of the businesses stay open that night,” Rinowski said. “Some serve refreshments, offer special discounts, some have enter-to-win gift baskets, others have entertainment.”
Thanks to sponsorship by Boats, Inc., Santa will give presents to more than 200 children, assisted by Mrs. Claus and their entourage of elves.
Back by popular demand is the “snowball drop,” which started last year. After the East Lyme Lions light the tree and Santa arrives, a blizzard of 1,000 ping-pong balls will be dropped from the top of the fire truck ladder.
Each ball will have a number that corresponds with a local participating merchant. Shoppers will find out what their snowball special is once they go to the store.
“The snowballs were very successful last year,” Rinoski said. “It’s a rare occasion when almost everyone gets to be a ‘winner’ and
it’s just a lot of fun for the strollers and the retailers.”
There will be a few prized red “Rudolph Noses” in the mix. This year’s grand prizes are a surprise until right before the event, she said, but last year’s included $25 gift certificates from Guy’s Oil. Some of the snowballs won a free gift at a shop, or an additional discount.
“People really got into it last year, with a count-down to the snowball drop,” Rinoski said. Her husband, Kyle, is again donating his DJ services this year to provide a musical backdrop and entertainment on the town green. The Rotary Club also will serve hot chocolate.
There will be children’s activities of the non-commercial kind at the police station, coordinated by East Lyme Youth Services. The Friends of the Smith-Harris House, dressed in 19th-century garb, will be singing carols with live musical accompaniment and serving cider and cookies to revelers who want to step inside, warm up, and join in the songs.
Each year the stroll gives away two prize packages. People can register to win at participating merchants. This year the awards are a romance package based around a two-night stay at the Inn at Harbor Hill and a family package with local entertainment and activities. A drawing will be held and winners announced after the event.
Rinoski thanked 38 Hope Street, which signed on as an initial sponsor of this year’s stroll. Guy’s Oil, Niantic Plumbing, HESCO, and East Lyme Economic Development Commission contributed to the horse carriage rides.
“We all are very passionate about making our downtown successful,” Rinoski said of the Niantic Main Street board. “It’s a lot of hours of coordination and hard work, but this event is really fun, too.”
Niantic Main Street is a not-for-profit group with the goal of revitalizing the downtown area. Its other big effort, launched earlier this year with the Town of East Lyme, is the ongoing streetscape project that aims to bring a more inviting pedestrian experience along the heart of the Niantic business district.
The town has been granted a $400,000 Small Town Economic Assistance Program grant for hardscape changes that address public safety in the downtown commercial zone, including better crosswalks and curbing.
A local capital campaign is underway to provide for lamp posts, appropriate urban trees, planters, trash receptacles, and street furniture that are outlined in master streetscape plan developed by a professional landscape architecture design firm and approved by the Planning Commission and endorsed by the East Lyme Board of Selectmen.
Continue the Holiday Spirit
at the Smith-Harris House
Niantic Village festivities continue throughout the following week at the Smith-Harris House, East Lyme’s historic 19th-century museum home at 33 Society Road.
On Sunday, Nov. 30, it kicks off its third annual Home for the Holidays decorated tree and wreath display. The house is open all week, filled with holiday trees decorated by local businesses and patrons, some in historical themes, others fanciful whimsy.
All are on display for the entire family to view. Visitors can vote for their favorite tree throughout the week, as well as place bids on the trees as part of this year’s silent auction.
This year’s tree auctioning is a daytime event from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 7, with activities for children and adults, according to Carol Marelli, chairman of the Smith-Harris House Commission, and co-chair of the event with Mary Cutillo, president of the Friends of Smith-Harris House.
Members of the Friends of Smith-Harris House also start their annual wreath and greens sale that day, running through Saturday, Dec. 6.
An assortment of wreaths, swags, centerpieces, and arrangements of live and permanent greens will be on sale all week at the barn. Friends members are collecting the fresh greens from the house grounds, as well as their own back yards, and will continually update the offerings all week. Hot cider and cookies also will be available.
All proceeds from the tree and wreath sale go to Friends of Smith-Harris House and Niantic Main Street, in support of community programming.
The Smith-Harris House is open Sunday, Nov. 30, from noon to 4 p.m., and Monday through Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the Sunday Wassail Celebration and Auction from noon to 4 p.m. For more information, call 739-2688.
By Suzanne Thompson
Special to the Times
Additional information about both events is at www.discovereastlyme.com.