HAMBURG, N.Y. — The most festive time of year is here. Organizers say there's no better way to kick off your holiday shopping than with the Village of Hamburg’s annual Holly Jolly Weekend.
This year’s event starts on Friday, Nov. 29 and continues on Saturday. Holly Jolly Weekend offers a chance to explore local businesses in the Village of Hamburg.
Anne McIntosh and Nicole Casell are the co-owners of Alchemy Wine & Beer. They're participating in the Holly Jolly Weekend again this year.
Casell said it's so important to shop local.
"So many of the businesses here in Hamburg are family-run, or many of them are women-run. There's close to probably 30 plus businesses participating this weekend, so it's just a great way to support really great families that are women-run businesses," Casell said.
There are more than 20 stores participating including Main+Downing, Spot Coffee, What a Woman Wants Boutique, Molly+Kate, Graphic Poetry, and Lockwood's Garden Center and Comfort Zone Café, Prima Oliva, and Harvest Lantern Home Decor.
Kate Violante is one of the co-owners with Main+Downing. She said there is something for everyone at this event.
"They come in looking for their Christmas dresses their holiday outfits, their gifts. There is something special for everyone it's really great," Violante said.
It’s a weekend full of fun, family-friendly activities, food, shopping and holiday cheer. Local retailers will offer special deals, too.
Santa will also be coming from the North Pole for the activities.
McIntosh said, "A really important tradition to the Village of Hamburg is the parade. All the kids walk down Main Street and Buffalo Street and throw out candy, and it's so cute. It's led by Mr. and Mrs. Claus, of course. That's at 11 o'clock a.m. on Saturday. So after that, everyone's encouraged to stay after the parade and then shop and eat locally."
That parade will start at Main and Center Streets. It will go around Buffalo Street. It will end at Pleasant Avenue.
There’s a trolley to take a scenic ride through the village. On Friday, the event runs from 10 in the morning to 7 at night. The trolley will run from noon to 4 p.m. Friday. Saturday the event is from 10 in the morning to 5 in the afternoon. The trolley will run after the Hamburg Holiday Parade until 2:30 p.m.
Casell said the trolley "makes it easier to sort of cover all the village and shop multiple businesses. If people haven't visited Hamburg, there's a ton to eat and drink here. So there's lots of specials happening throughout the weekend just to come and eat, drink and be merry!"
You can find more information here.