By Beth David, Editor
Fairhaven’s 26th annual Old Tyme Holiday Village may have a new name, but it filled up the center of Fairhaven with good old-fashioned holiday fun. This year’s activities included pony rides, chestnuts roasting on an open fire (yeah, for real), food trucks, an outdoor alcohol spot, and all the same crafters and lunch possibilities of previous years.
It was the first one for Alyssa Botelho, the town’s new Community Development Coordinator, which replaced the Office of Tourism.
“It’s amazing, I can’t believe how many people showed up,” said Ms. Botelho, who estimated about 1,500 attendees. “With so many events going on, we didn’t know how many people to expect, so it’s really cool to see the amount of people here.”
She said she has been attending the event since childhood, and events like it “bring magic to the season.”
Loring Weeks, who has acted as St. Nicholas at the Unitarian Universalist Church holiday Marketplace for all 26 years, said he was pretty sure it was the biggest one yet.
“My coin bag is almost empty,” he said, a pretty good indication of how many people showed up.
- In this new addition to the event, Jill Souza stands by her special Santa’s Village, which includes hundreds of pieces and is set up for viewing and taking pictures, upstairs in the town hall auditorium during the Old Tyme Holiday Village event in the center of town on 12/14/24. Photo by Beth David.
- Jessica Fidalgo, the chairperson of the Fairhaven Belonging Committee, is a happy little elf staffing the table upstairs in the town hall auditorium during the Old Tyme Holiday Village event in the center of town on 12/14/24. Photo by Beth David.
- Chris Richard is Father Christmas spreading the spirit of the season in front of Fairhaven Town Hall during the Old Tyme Holiday Village event on 12/14/24. Photo by Beth David.
- Young Eloise gets a ride on Buzz Lightyear, with a little help from mom (Alex) and Jill from Blazing Saddles, on the lawn of the Fairhaven Town Hall during the Old Tyme Holiday Village event on 12/14/24. Photo by Beth David.
- A couple of classic Old Tyme Holiday characters roam around Fairhaven Town Hall during the Old Tyme Holiday Village event in the center of town on 12/14/24. Photo by Beth David.
- The Kitchen Crew at the First Congregational Church takes a break from serving up lobster rolls to pose for the local free sheet during the Old Tyme Holiday Village event in the center of Fairhaven on 12/14/24. Photo by Beth David.
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Click here to download the 12/19/24 issue: 12-19-24 OldTyme
Click here to download the OML complaint: TACommOML_Complaint
Click here to download the OML complaint response: TACommOML_Response
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