The second annual City of Rochester Roc Holiday Village presented by Five Star Bank wrapped up 14 days of holiday enchantment Tuesday with a New Year’s Eve celebration.
More than 125,000 people of all ages visited Roc Holiday Village in the heart of downtown Rochester at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial Park.
“We’re grateful and honored by the support of our generous sponsors and the Rochester area community. Our goal was to create a space for the entire community to gather and celebrate the winter season,” said Jenna Knauf, Sean McCarthy, and Kelli Marsh, co-founders and producers of Roc Holiday Village.
“That dream was realized as we once again welcomed tens of thousands of people who embraced the village and made new holiday traditions with their loved ones. From ice skating to shopping in the village, to visiting Santa in his workshop and taking a break in The Lodge, it was wonderful to see smiling faces everywhere. That is the greatest reward, and what inspires us to bring this event to the community year after year.”
Details on Roc Holiday Village 2020 will be announced next fall.
Roc Holiday Village 2019 highlights included:
- Free ice skating and rentals sponsored by Wegmans drew tens of thousands of people of all ages.
- Santa’s Workshop sponsored by Kodak Moments and Excellus featured a built-to-scale replica of the former Midtown Magic Mountain, a section of the Midtown Monorail, visits and photos with Santa, Kodak Moments kiosks to print photo gifts, free crafts and building block activities by Excellus, milk and cookies compliments of Wegmans;
- Kazoos sold to benefit Camp Good Days and Special Times raised over $3,000; this will roughly allow five (5) children to spend a week at Camp;
- IAC Kids raised thousands of dollars from donations for free photos with Santa (photo materials compliments of Kodak Moments)
- Storytime with Santa sold out before the event began; children enjoyed stories, crafts, and goodies with Santa
- Free crafts for kids held every weekend in the YMCA of Greater Rochester Gingerbread House
- A shopping village featured more than 24 local merchandise, food and drink vendors who did bustling business
- Two Mini Makers Market days presented goods for sale from 32 local vendors
- Food trucks on Court St. including Karma’s Cruisin Cafe, Le Petit Poutine, Marty’s Meats, Marty’s Birdland, The Meatball Truck, Tom Wahl’s, and Rustic Taco Bar
- Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, and Three Kings’ Day holiday celebrations held inside the YMCA of Greater Rochester Gingerbread House
- Free ice rink activities figure skating performances, sled hockey, broom ball, learn to skate, learn to play hockey, and curling demos
- Free live music in The Anthony Butera Team at Keller Williams Lodge Bar and Restaurant every Friday and Saturday evening
- Cozy Winter Igloos and Igloo Inns presented by Rochester Regional Health — Cozy could be reserved for 1 ½ hours and Inn for 2 hours— with private food and beverage service sold out in less than two hours. More igloos and two new Igloo Inns were added this year due to popular demand.
- Five pop-up restaurants did brisk business in The Anthony Butera Team at Keller Williams Lodge – Marty’s Meats, Veneto, Antonetta’s, Avvino, and Native
- New Nativity and Petting Zoo presented by Swan Tile and Marsh Construction
- New Rec Room took over Santa’s Workshop after Christmas with free-to-play arcade games and a bar for drinks
- New Tastes of the Season shopping and sampling experience the weekend after Christmas featured food and drink vendors
- New craft classes for adults were held on Sunday mornings including evergreen wreath and holiday centerpiece making and cookie and cake decorating
- New Pups Meet Santa ticketed event included photo opps with Santa and an ugly sweater contest for dogs
- New Year’s Eve celebration presented by Triple•O featured a free Silent Disco presented by Mr. Dominic’s Restaurants, and host Chaz Bruce for free musical and dance performances, and midnight countdown
