KICKING OFF THE HOLIDAY SEASON
Thousands enjoy 36th annual Victorian Stroll on Sunday
TROY, N.Y. >> The 36th annual Victorian Stroll once again drew large crowds to the streets of downtown Troy to celebrate the start of the holiday season.
Thousands of people from near and far attended the Sunday festival, presented by the Rensselaer County Regional Chamber of Commerce.
“It’s a great chance to kick off your holiday season and really enjoy the best of Troy,” chamber president Kate Manley said. “We have shopping, dining, over 100 activities for everyone: song, dance, balloons circus performers, fire truck engines. It’s a great day for Troy.”
Troy couple and returning festival- goers Robert and Heather Emory brought five-year- old Colin to the 2018 Victorian Stroll. “What we like about it this year is seeing it through the eyes of our little one,” Heather said. “We’ve been coming for 12 years, and now we get to see it through the eyes of a kid, so that makes it so much more special.”
The family spent some
time at the Tech Valley Center of Gravity before taking a ride on the antique fire truck and had plans to visit local coffee shop Spill’n the Beans as well.
Robert, a Troy native, also enjoys seeing how the city’s downtown district has changed and improved. “Troy is really is in the middle of a blossom here,” he said. “Troy is kind of waking up a little.”
Congressman Paul Tonko was among the crowd on Sunday too. “I like going back in time,” he said about the event. “It’s just an oldfashioned sense of Christmas.”
Tonko continued, “It’s such a great tradition and it very easily puts you into the holiday spirit.”
Along with all of the Christmas cheer, the annual Victorian Stroll is also significant for downtown merchants because is often their busiest day of the year. Shoppers were in and out of downtown stores like Truly Rhe, Annick Designs and The Holiday Shop at The Arts Center of the Capital Region all day.
Likewise, the district’s many restaurants, bars, and eateries were filled with event- goers seeking some food and drink during the festivities.
Local business Flowers by Pesha spent its first Victorian Stroll in a new location at 501 Broadway, in the former Record building. The flower shop was stocked with poinsettias and holiday greens, along with gift items such as ornaments and candles. “The Christmas season is very busy for us, and the Stroll is just an additional bonus that draws people in as well,” said Mark King.
“It’s really exciting,” he continued. “It’s nice to watch all of the people walking by in the Victorian garb.”
This year, Mark and his wife Pesha King decorated their new storefront with a beautiful Christmas scene for the Stroll’s annual Window Decorating Contest.
With a theme of “Winter Holidays Around The World,” online voting for the contest’s People’s Choice award will continue until 4:30 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 3 at Facebook.com/renscochamber.
Following the Victorian Stroll, the community was invited to the City of Troy’s tree and menorah lighting ceremony in Monument Square, another beloved Troy holiday tradition.