A Blizzard Of Events Planned For Christmas In Harwich

HARWICH – Christmas in Harwich Festival Weekend will be more active this year than Santa and his Elves in the North Pole. The three-day festival from Dec. 1 through Dec. 3 will have a stroll, parade, fireworks, street theater, music, and a blizzard of holiday events taking place in Harwich Port, Harwich Center and East Harwich.

There will also be tree lighting in each of the seven villages.

“Christmas in Harwich Weekend Festival has had many wonderful partners and sponsors and we are so grateful to all who wanted to be part of the fabulously crazy vision and what is sure to be an amazing weekend event,” said Harwich Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cyndi Williams.

The festivities will start with the traditional Friday night tree lighting in Doane Park in Harwich Port at 5:30 p.m. Williams said there will be a tree lighting in each of the seven villages at 6 p.m. on that evening.

Following the tree lighting, there will be a stroll through Harwich Port with shops, art galleries, and Pilgrim Congregational Church welcoming visitors until 8:30 p.m. Santa will arrive by fire truck at 6:15 p.m. at the chamber of commerce building and will be available for photographs until 8 p.m.

The Harwich Town Band will present a concert inside the TD Bank, and the fire and police departments will conduct Homeless for The Holidays in Schoolhouse Road parking lot, collecting toys, food, cash and gift cards for needy residents.

Get some rest, because Saturday will be presenting a blizzard of activities as well.

There will be street theater along Main Street in Harwich Center on Saturday and Sunday. New this year will be A Dicken of a Christmas, A Christmas Carol in Harwich, said Williams. The Live interactive strolling experience of the classic story by Charles Dickens comes alive along Main Street starting at the Pilgrim Masonic Lodge and ending at Brooks Park.

“Working with my co-producer Chris Shultz of New Latitudes Events Solutions we have put together an amazing cast and team for A Dickens of a Christmas, A Christmas Carol in Harwich, who will be strolling in the village” from noon to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, according to Williams.

There will be a Holiday Market at the 204 Cultural Arts Municipal Building from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday with more than 30 vendors and another 30 artists. From noon to 2 p.m. there will be face painting and balloon twisting, at 12:30 p.m. there will be a “Frozen” performance, and from 3 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. folk singer John McCutcheon will perform a free concert for kids. From 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. McCutcheon, considered a folk music renaissance man, will perform at the 204. Tickets for that show are $25.

There are several other events on Saturday in Harwich Center, including the Harwich Elementary School PTO Holiday Bazaar from 9 a.m. to noon at the school; the Garden Club of Harwich’s Holiday Boutique will be at the community center from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.; and the Garden’s Club’s house and inn tour will occur from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. The First Congregational Church of Harwich Center will hold its Advent Concert from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

There is also a lot to do in East Harwich on Saturday. From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Santa, Mrs. Claus and friends will provide roaming entertainment with jugglers, magicians, stilt walkers and more, said Williams. Santa will be stationed in Hinckley’s Home Center and Mrs. Claus will be decorating cookies with children at Harwich Paint and Decorating and Terry’s TV and Appliances.

The Wequassett Resort and Golf Club has a busy day planned on Saturday with a holiday market scheduled from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be food trucks, including Red River Barbeque and Encore available. At 4 p.m. Santa will arrive and at 5:30 p.m. there will be a tree lighting and caroling by the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School Chorus.

Fireworks will light up the sky over Pleasant Bay at 6 p.m. These are the chamber’s fireworks that were postponed due to the inclement weather that canceled the Harwich Cranberry and Arts and Music Festival in September, according to Williams. Parking is recommended at the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School lot on Route 137, where a shuttle will take people back and forth from the Wequassett Resort.

The Holiday Parade will roll through Harwich Center at noon on Sunday. The parade will begin at the Harwich Elementary School and move along South Street to Main Street and through the village, turning left on Oak Street and concluding at Monomoy Regional High School. There will be food trucks and vendors in Brooks Park.

A Christmas Carol in Harwich will take to the streets once again in Harwich Center on Sunday, moving about the village from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

And don’t forget the Trolley to Christmas Town that happens on Nov. 26 and 27 from 5:15 to 7:15 p.m.

For a complete list of events and activities, visit harwichcc.com/cape-cod-vacation/2023-christmas-in-harwich-all-weekend-long