The Downtown Business Improvement District’s (B.I.D.) Holiday Festival kicked off the most wonderful time of the year in downtown Glen Cove. An unusually warm Saturday meant crowds of people piled in to enjoy the event. December 2 from 1:30 until 4:45 people swarmed Village Square excited to participate in holiday activities, watch local performers and even meet some familiar holiday characters.
The magic of the season was present downtown, as music filled the air, horses walked the streets pulling carriages and a train, sponsored by Threading & Beauty Lounge, brought children to wherever their imagination could take them.
Santa was there in his warm comfy den, completed with cozy Safavieh furniture, happy to take photos with families and the Grinch was stalking around occasionally stopping to talk with Martha May Whovier.
Stockings were decorated and letters were written to Santa; peoples’ bellies were filled with hot cocoa, cookies, and candy canes. Adults were able to get started on some holiday shopping and kids added to their wish-lists at the Deep Roots Holiday Craft Fair. Everyone ended their night with the City of Glen Cove’s Christmas tree lighting and joining in to sing some carols.
With all this happening it felt as if downtown Glen Cove was turned into the North Pole for the day.
“The event was so full of holiday spirit, the weather was better than we could’ve expected and so many people came,” said Jill Nossa, Executive Director of the Glen Cove Downtown B.I.D. “With the generosity of our sponsors and the help of our volunteers, it made for a really warm and cozy Holiday Festival; enjoying music, activities and hot cocoa with everyone downtown.”
The Holiday Festival performances included numbers from Glen Cove High School’s jazz band, orchestra, select chorale and kickline, St. Dominic’s dance company and choir, Jazz Hands Childrens Theatre and soloists Stella Fraser & Mia Pinto, Christopher Moll and Vanessa Randazzo-Sosa, the Finley Middle School chorus, Our Lady of Mercy’s select choir and our very own 2023 Downtown Sounds teen idol Tatiana Andino Mendez.
Alongside craft tables and hot cocoa stands was Rallye Lexus spreading some holiday joy at the event with tasty cookies. To maintain that joy for the rest of the season, the company sponsored the transformation of the police booth on Bridge Street into a holiday cottage that remains lit for the holidays.
The Glen Cove Downtown B.I.D wants to extend a huge thank you to all of our sponsors who made this magical event possible: Rallye Lexus, Threading & Beauty Lounge, Maxsipconnects.com, Portledge School, Level Up Glen Cove, How Can I Help Elder Care, Deep Roots Farmers Market, Safavieh Home Furnishings, Henry’s, Starbucks, and Long Island Video Enterprises.
For more information on the Glen Cove Downtown Business Improvement District, its programs and events, call the Downtown BID office at 516-759-6970, visit www.glencovedowntown.org, or email info@glencovedownto
