WESTWOOD, N.J.—Home for the Holidays Parade 2020 is taking the year off due to health and safety concerns, but there is still plenty to celebrate.
The Celebrate Westwood team is pleased to announce the kick-off of “Winter on Westwood Avenue.” The committee said in a press release, hours after we reported that Home for the Holidays was down until 2021, that residents and neighbors are invited to walk Westwood Avenue and the downtown business district “to enjoy the sights, sounds, scents and sales of the 2020 holiday season.”
Activities and events include:
- #ShopTheHub, Nov. 14. An event hosted by 15 Westwood retail shops offering one-day sales, specials, and promotions. The day features Arts on the Avenues jazz guitarist Sam Bernhardt, midday near the Post Office, and in-store events at Beyond the Barre, Donna Moda, Ginger N’ Cream, Ginger Kids, Hartly, Hunt & Orchard, LaViano, Ludovica, Market House, Mirror Mirror, Papillon Bambino, Society Femme, Society Men, The Gem Mine, Threads, and more. There’ll be a special opportunity to learn about one of Westwood’s newest retail shops, Urban Touch!
- Westwood Welcomes Winter, Saturday, Dec. 5 from 4 to 8 p.m. Stretching from Veterans Memorial Park to Five Corners, with small musical ensembles, performances, light displays, and more. The new event will allow residents to welcome the season with some of our most time-honored traditions, including the lighting of the Westwood Christmas Tree and a special socially distanced visit from Santa Claus.
- Westwood Winter Wonderland continues on Saturday, Dec. 12 and 19, when Celebrate Westwood carries on the festivities with additional musical entertainment and unique holiday activities, “all with the intent of celebrating the season with our outstanding community of neighbors, friends, and families.”
Throughout these December weeks, area residents can look forward to the annual menorah lighting, unique holiday lights, and art displays throughout town.
Through these mini, festival-like events of music, entertainment, lights, decorations, warm refreshments, and community cheer, Celebrate Westwood hopes to remind residents to support the entirety of the Westwood business district—retail, dining and services—while they make their holiday plans and shopping lists.
You’ll find more details on all the events and promotions in the coming weeks.
Not to replace Home for the Holidays
Organizers told Pascack Press on Nov. 3 that they were saddened to hear, but well understood, that the Home for the Holidays committee had to cancel the town’s annual parade, which is known for drawing upward of 5,000 residents of the Pascack Valley.
“Celebrate Westwood looks forward to the continued support of the borough as we coordinate these small, safe gathering winter and holiday moments with various departments, small businesses, and community organizations,” they said.
Their kickoff to the holiday season, they said, “is designed not to replace, but to enhance beloved traditions such as Home for the Holidays that are difficult to host with current gathering restrictions.”
Westwood Avenue will not be closed for any of the Winter on Westwood Avenue’s events.
To participate in an event as an individual, business, or organization, or to help plan and execute the events, write celebratewestwood@gmail.com. For updates, follow @celebratewestwood on social media and visit celebratewestwood.org.