Grafton – Over 40 businesses, churches and organizations in Grafton will be offering holiday entertainment, activities, refreshments, crafts and more Sunday, Dec. 3, at the 22nd annual Grafton Celebrates the Holidays event.
Look for the “Frosty Stop” snow bear logo at participating locations. Many stops are perennial favorites such as the horse-drawn wagon rides at the Brigham Hill Community Barn, the Craft Fair at the Municipal Center Gym, the Petting Zoo and Santa’s Workshop at Savers Bank, the Polar Express Trackless Train Rides at UniBank, and photos with Santa at Homefield Credit Union.
Many other stops return year after year including Kids on the Common Pediatrics, where kids can get their favorite stuffed animal or doll examined, Hunter’s Grille & Tap at the Grafton Inn, which has cookie decorating for kids and hot spiked cider samples for adults, and Pepperoni Express, with free slices of pizza for those under age 12.
Others are new this year such as OFF the Common Antiques, where kids can make ornaments and dogs will receive a complimentary treat; Quite Fetching, in which visitors will be given a keepsake polaroid photo of them with Santa Paws; Blackstone Valley Art Association, who will have a pop-up gallery in the Town House with fine art paintings in all media, cards and other hand painted accessories; and St. Philip/St. Mary’s parishes presenting a live nativity.
Special holiday performances will also be taking place at the Unitarian Church with a dramatic reading of Dicken’s “A Christmas Carol” with Victorian Christmas music and hand bell ringing at 12:30 p.m. and a holiday concert at 2:30 p.m. at Apple Tree Arts by the ATA Community Chorus in the Great Hall of the Grafton Town House.
As always, Santa will be making his arrival on the common for the official tree-lighting ceremony and sing-along. You can join along with caroling by the Girl Scouts at 4 p.m., then enjoy music by guitarist Mike Tarara before Santa arrives around 4:30 p.m., then continue with caroling until the tree-lighting at approximately 4:45 p.m.
Make sure to take advantage of the shuttle buses that will run from the main parking area at Grafton High School to Koopman’s Plaza and the common for easy access to some of the most popular Frosty Stops.
The Recreation Department as well as Savers Bank and the Grafton Fire Department also collect toys to assist the Grafton Food Bank in their holiday distribution to families in need. You may drop off a new, unwrapped toy to one of these locations by Friday, Dec. 15.
Follow Grafton Recreation on Facebook at @GraftonRecDept for highlights leading up to the big day and a live feed on the day of. For detailed times and event descriptions and locations, pick up a brochure at participating businesses or visit GraftonRec.com.
