Parade, tree-lighting to kick off holidays

Brian Farkas News Editor

Poughkeepsie’s 2007 holiday season will begin with a blast. On Friday, Nov. 30, the City of Poughkeepsie, in conjunction with the Bardavon 1869 Opera House and the Poughkeepsie River District Business Association, will host the 14th annual Celebration of Lights Parade and Fireworks. The parade, voted last year as the “Best Event” of the holiday season by Dutchess County Tourism, attracts an average crowd of 5,000 people, making it Poughkeepsie’s largest annual public event.

“This is a wonderful event for everyone in the Hudson Valley,” said Bardavon Executive Director Chris Silva. “Families and residents really come out and show holiday spirit.”

“This is such an important event to kick off our holiday season here,” said Acting Development Director for the City of Poughkeepsie Linda MacIsaac. “People really look forward to it.”

The parade will commence at 6:30 p.m. on Main Street and Crannell Street and will march down Main for a Christmas tree lighting near Market Street. At 7:15 p.m., crowds will witness the area’s only winter fireworks display along Poughkeepsie’s waterfront, sponsored by Legion Fireworks.

The Celebration of Lights Parade will be led by Poughkeepsie Mayor Nancy Cozean, and will include performances by the Amerscott Highland Pipers, the Fusileer’s Fife & Drum Corps, and the Poughkeepsie High School Jazz Ensemble, and several Hudson Valley Philharmonic ensembles. Also included in the parade will be performances by Arm of the Sea Theatre and IABAS Traditional Brazilian Band with 200 children from Warring, and Clinton elementary schools. The parade will culminate in Santa Claus’s arrival on a City of Poughkeepsie Fire Engine.

Following the parade, the River District restaurants (Caffe Aurora, Milanese, Pippy’s, Spanky’s, River Station and The Derby) will offer food and beverages. The Bardavon will screen of The Sound of Music at 8 p.m., after a 7:30 p.m. concert on the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ.

The Celebration of Lights Parade began in 1994 as an effort by the City of Poughkeepsie and the Bardavon to boost holiday spirit. “Our office’s Economic Development Division is really making an effort to attract business here,” said MacIsaac. “We’re dedicated to helping investors and businesses succeed, and big community events like this help to generate business. It gets people out onto the streets, and foot traffic can be a powerful thing.”

Dutchess County Tourism Resource Manager Mary Wright noted that the annual parade has been bringing in increasing numbers of tourists, as well as Poughkeepsie residents. Dutchess County draws about three million visitors per year who spend $447 million, about 20 percent of which is spent during the holiday season.

“Activities like these holiday celebrations do draw people to Poughkeepsie from Beacon, Rhinebeck, Pine, and the other villages,” said Wright in an e-mailed statement. “People are looking for activities for family and friends to come together.”