Here are few fun Holiday Wild Cards coming up in the 2016 Christmas season on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia, as well as in Southern Delaware:
• The Rescue Fire Company in Cambridge will have its Christmas Train Garden up and running for the 80th straight year, starting Tue., Dec. 1. You can also catch train displays in Sudlersville on two different December weekends and in Delmar on four different weekends in November, December, and January. A Holiday Train & Lego Show is planned for Sat., Nov. 26 in Chestertown.
• The Winterfest of Lights in Ocean City runs through Jan. 1, 2017. In Lewes, there is a big new WonderFest Delaware light show complete with a Christmas village. It also runs through Jan. 1.
• Here is the schedule for this year’s edition of the fun Santa Train, which will roll through the Eastern Shore of Virginia on Sat., Dec. 3.
Click the ducks to see some sweet scenes that will look just right under the tree.
• The big Midnight Madness shopping extravaganza in St. Michaels is Sat., Dec. 3. If your tastes run toward quieter. small-town affairs, Christmas on the Creek in nearby Oxford runs Dec. 2-4.
• Free carriage rides through Downtown Easton will be available on four upcoming Saturdays—Dec. 3, 10, and 17 and 31, thanks to the Tidewater Inn.
• You can go skating with Santa on Sat., Dec. 10 in Talbot County, swimming with Santa in the Choptank River at the Hyatt Resort in Cambridge on Sat., Dec. 10, or running with Santa (and a host of other joggers in holiday-themed garb) at the Santa Chase at Martinak State Park outside of Denton on Sun., Dec. 18. The less health-conscious among you can eat pizza with Santa at Northside Park in Ocean City on Wed., Dec. 7.
Click on Santa to give the gift of adventure: EASTERN SHORE ROAD TRIPS!
• Holiday home tours are in the works in Lewes on Sat., Dec. 3; Chincoteague on Sat., Dec. 3; the historic Newtown neighborhood of Salisbury on Sun., Dec. 4; and Milton on Sat., Dec. 10. The Preston Historical Society will be having its 3rd annual Vintage Christmas affair on Sat., Dec. 3.
• The highlight of Christmas in Onancock Dec. 9-11 is Santa’s arrival by boat behind a team of kayaking reindeer. In Cape Charles, enjoy Festive Fridays from now through Dec. 23. On Nov. 25 and 26, there is a driving tour that goes to shops and studios that are part of the Eastern Shore of Virginia Artisan Guild Holiday Market.
• Get a holiday dose of small-town shopping bliss at the Dewey Beach Sip & Shop affair on the weekend of Nov. 25-26; the Milford Holiday Stroll on Fri., Dec. 2; Winterfest Weekend in Chestertown Dec. 2-4; Winterfest in Rock Hall on Sat., Dec. 3; Christmas in St. Michaels Dec. 9-11; the Milton Holly Festival on Sat., Dec. 10; and the holiday edition of Cambridge Second Saturday on Dec. 10, where you can stop by the first-ever Secrets of the Eastern Shore pop-up shop!
• This year’s edition of Caroling on the Circle, a 33-year-old tradition in Georgetown, Del. is scheduled for Mon., Dec. 5. Don’t forget to bring food items for the needy. The postcard pretty Candlelit Caroling festivities at Adkins Arboretum are on Sat., Dec. 10 this year. Best to register in advance–it sold out last year.
• There will be a big Cookie Throwdown in Elkton on Fri., Dec. 9. You can try samples in stores and businesses. (Alas, the used-be-annual Great Christmas Cookie Walk in Dover is not happening this year.)
• The 6th annual Santa Con festivities will bring lots of ruddy-cheeked holiday cheer to Ocean City on Sat., Dec. 10.
• Luminaria Night on the gorgeous Nanticoke River waterfront and throughout Vienna is on Sat., Dec. 17.
• Classic holiday song & dance will be on tap at the touring “Broadway Christmas Wonderland” show at the Wicomico Civic Center on Tue., Nov. 29; a Celtic Yuletide performance in Ocean City on Sat., Dec. 3; the Chester River Chorale holiday show in Chestertown on Sat., Dec. 3; “The Nutcracker” in Dover on the weekend of Dec. 3-4 and in Ocean City on Sun., Dec. 18; the song-and-dance show “Santa’s Mixed Bag” at the North Street Playhouse in Onancock on the weekend of Dec. 9-11; a “Fandango!” Holiday Concert by the Salisbury Symphony Orchestra on Sat., Dec. 10; and Handel’s Messiah Sing-Alongs with the Eastern Shore of Virginia Orchestra on the weekend of Dec. 10-11.
•Between now and Dec. 24, you can cut down your own tree at the Hutchinson’s Christmas Forest in Cordova.
• Hop in the holiday way back machine and enjoy a 19th Century Christmas at historic Furnacetown near Snow Hill. There will be lots of old time farmland living history demos during the A Farmer’s Christmas celebration at the Delaware Agricultural Museum in Dover on Sat., Dec. 3.
Whew! That should be enough opportunities for Christmas cheer to satisfy just about everyone, don’t you think?
–Jim Duffy
