Josh Mclean in the Adirondack Store’s Tupper Lake location is decked out for the Holiday stroll on Dec. 14, 2023.
(Enterprise photo — Oliver Reil)
TUPPER LAKE — While Jack Frost may be nipping at your nose today, there will be no shortage of holiday warmth and cheer, complete with lights, decorations and appearances from Santa and the Grinch.
The Tupper Lake Holiday Stroll gets underway today and lasts for not one, not two but three days, with various events scheduled around the village through Sunday. There are over 30 different scheduled events for people to choose from.
The first planned activity begins at noon today: a Holiday Stroll Planetarium show at the Adirondack Sky Center and Obervatory’s 68 Park St. location.
Despite Tupper Lake’s reputation for dark skies that make it such an attractive site for stargazing and other activities that the sky center runs, the lights in town will be shining a bit brighter this weekend than normal.
At 5 p.m., there will be a community tree lighting at Waterfront Park. Horse-drawn sleigh rides will be offered, although pre-registration was required and all rides are full as of press time Thursday. At 6 p.m., Tupper Arts will host its Festival of Lights Art Show at its 106 Park St. studio location.
The show features work by artists meant to express their various interpretations of “illumination,” according to Evie Longhurst, the director of operations. The show will include a reception along with the exhibit.
Across town, the Wild Center continues its annual Wild Lights event — adding to the weekend’s electric vibes.
The immersive experience includes thousands of LED lights and zenful music set up around walking paths through its nearby woods, enhanced by the freshly fallen snow that will stick around through the weekend. That runs from 5 to 8 p.m. today and Saturday — and extends beyond the Holiday Stroll weekend.
The Wild Center plans to run the event every Friday and Saturday through Feb. 22 — with nightly openings planned between Christmas and New Year’s and President’s Week. For more information, visit wildcenter.org/visit/wildlights/.
Businesses and lampposts along Park Street will be lit up as well with holiday lights throughout the weekend, with a variety of deals and discounts for shoppers as part of the event.
The Holiday Stroll is being run in conjunction with the town of Tupper Lake Recreation Department, Tupper Arts and the Tupper Lake business community. The festivities are geared toward residents and visitors alike, with attractions for people of all ages.
The weekend will feature various decorating events, a craft fair at Holy Ghost Academy on Saturday and the return of Kids Row at Spruce and Hemlock on Sunday — a vendor fair that debuted at OkTupperfest earlier this year and features various crafts sold by child-entrepreneurs from around Tupper Lake.
More information — including a full schedule of events with their times and locations — can be found at tupperlake.com/events/holiday-stroll.