ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The holiday season has arrived. Roc Holiday Village is set to open on Friday at 4 p.m., bringing shopping, food, ice skating, visits with Santa, and more to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park.
The seventh annual free holiday village is expected to draw thousands to downtown Rochester. Stacy Ercan, who owns Stacy K Floral, has been selling at the Roc Holiday Village since its first year in 2018. She’s seen how much the celebration has grown.
“When we weren’t sure if it was going to work and seeing the parade of people come, it was just something you can’t explain. I was able to see what it brought to the community and see my friends succeed in doing something really magical,” Ercan said.
Ercan said she’s bringing a variety of festive items to her booth this year to sell, including some new items.
“Everything that we have that can kind of be in the outdoor elements. So we’ll have our candles, we’ll have giftware. We actually got this new purse line this year that we’ll have there. So we just try to have a little bit of everything,” She said.
At the Gingerbread House within the holiday village, there will be celebrations of different holidays, starting with a Hanukkah celebration on Sunday, Dec. 7. Then, there will be a Kwanzaa celebration on Sunday, Dec. 14, a Christmas celebration on Sunday, Dec. 21, and a Three Kings’ Day celebration on Sunday, Dec. 28. Ercan said the holiday village brings the entire community together, whichever holiday they celebrate.
“I get to create and bring joy to the community every day with all of the things that we do and create. There’s not really a better gig,” Ercan said.
This village isn’t just about ice skating and festivities, but also a way to bring small businesses into the spotlight.
“You go to one place and have a little snapshot of all those vendors. It’s really special. And for us, it gives us this brand awareness that we don’t otherwise have,” Ercan said.
What’s planned for this year?
This year, entertainment returns to the Gingerbread House, including free trivia nights, paint and sip events, and a new ticketed Holiday Floral Class. The Winter Wonderland Run 5K also returns. The race starts at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 20. The starting line and finish line are on Chestnut Street between Woodbury Boulevard and Court Street. You can register here.
Roc Holiday Village is also bringing back Story Time with Santa and Story Time with Anna and Elsa. It’s happening at the Triple-O Lodge. You can get tickets here. There will be opportunities for photos. Also for children, there will be free crafts inside the Gingerbread House, in partnership with groups including the Boy Scouts, Brooklyn Robot Foundry, the City of Rochester, and more.
This year, the Rochester Police and Fire departments will volunteer as Red Kettle bell ringers in a friendly “Battle of the Badges”. First responders will see which team can raise the most for The Salvation Army.
You can see a full schedule here. Once again, the winter igloos at the village have already sold out. Here are the hours for some areas of the village:
- Santa’s Workshop: Wednesday through Friday from 4 to 8 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- The Triple-O Lodge & Frosty’s Food Court: Wednesday and Thursday from 4 to 10 p.m., Friday from 4 to 11 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Ice Rink (weather permitting): Wednesday through Friday from 4 to 10 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Shopping Village: Wednesday and Thursday from 4 to 9 p.m., Friday from 4 to 10 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Gingerbread House: Wednesday through Friday from 4 to 8 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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