Events & Activities In The Catskills & Hudson Valley | November & December 2025
Posted by Coldwell Banker Village Green Realty on Tuesday, November 11th, 2025 at 3:47pm
'Tis the season to do stuff. Real Estate agents are people too, so we understand the holidays are packed! But are they packed with the type of events you actually want to attend? Our list of events for November and December 2025 in the Catskills and Hudson Valley does not include the usual parade of Nutcracker performances and Handel's Messiah sing-alongs. We're keeping it small this year with a list of events that you're unlikely to find on your Instagram feed. They are to deeply satisfying escapes from the usual holiday melee you might elsewhere - Upstate gets carried away just like everyone else. We've got a pottery workshop, a walk with goats, a drum circle (in case you need to get some excess energy out), a quiet reading of fairytales, and a market that will help you get fresh veggies for your Thanksgiving meal. Happy Holidays from the Local Experts in all things Upstate, to you!
"Give It a Spin" - Intro to the Wheel
Where: Newburgh Pottery, Newburgh, NY
Ah, the soothing feel of clay on your palms. It will banish the Little Drummer Boy from your thoughts, if only for a couple of hours. In this 2-hour workshop, the experts at Newburgh Pottery will give you a crash course in throwing pots. Feel free to BYOB. You can make an unlimited amount of pots in the allotted time, which seems like something of a dare!
Rosendale Ukelele Group Jam
Where: Rosendale Recreation Center, Rosendale, NY
Bring you Ukelele. Jam. Have a great night! This is a small group of Uke enthusiasts with rotating leaders that meet monthly. Dates available in the link. Rock on quietly!
Community Drum Circle
Where: 513 Main Street, Cairo, NY
This is the Catskills. Some people might assume that we have a drum circle on every corner. Not so! They’re rarer than you think! But in Cairo, a drum circle meets regularly two times a month. Everyone is welcome. Join in a common rhythm! Don't take your frustrations out on the customer service rep of whatever retailer did not deliver your holiday gifts on time!
Confirm via their calendar for availability.
Adventure Hike with the Herd
Where: Frederick Farm, Napanoch, NY
What, we ask you, is not better with goats?! We've posted this event before but it seems worth posting again! Hike with a herd of rescue goats on a 2.5-mile meandering path. There are streams, there might be some snow sparkle, and there's a whole lot of foraging for acorns, leaves, and pine branches. The hike takes 1.5 – 2 hrs, depending on group pace, and you can stay after to meet the sanctuary's herd of smaller goats.
Susan Carr: To bring you my love
Where: LabSpace, Hillsdale, NY
An exhibition of new works by Susan Carr as she finds ways to “add some love into the world.” A worthy mission. While you’re in Hillsdale visit the new bookshop Books and Cake where there’s cake (thank goodness) and books are arranged unconventionally in a sort of emotional system based on recommendations and what you might want to “read if you need __________.”
Kingston’s Uptown Farmers Market
Where: Ulster County Courthouse Parking Lot, Kingston, NY
This seasonal fixture provides locally grown produce and flowers, along with live music and vendors. Get all your Thanksgiving squashes, onions, parsley, and greens here! We walk over from our Kingston office when we're manning the fort - one of the best markets in the Hudson Valley!
Sanctuary
Where: Woodstock Artists Association and Museum (WAAM), Woodstock, NY
Sanctuary! That's a great way to start at this time of year. Sanctuary is an invitation to reflect on what makes a place feel protected and safe. Works displayed at WAAM in every medium have been juried by Sergio Mercado, the founder and principal of NYC-based Sergio Mercado Design Studio. We love an art show about places that feel like home!
On Golden Pond
Where: Bridge Street Theatre, Catskill, NY
The classic! Don’t know it? Look it up and then head to Bridge Street Theatre for their production.
Harvest Market By Market Party
Where: Wylder, Windham, NY
This event combines two great things! Shopping curated makers and dancing! You know those times when you’re shopping and wish you were dancing? Solved. Or those times when you’re dancing but also wish you could browse some beautifully made jewelry? Solved! Windham might be the only place within a reasonable driving distance where you’ll find a dusting of snow in mid-November. Feel the holiday spirit while you shake it!
2026 Art Pack Gallery Reception
Where: Hudson Valley Seed Company, Accord, NY
The Hudson Valley Seed Company's seedpacks are famous for the commissioned artworks that envelop their organic, heirloom, and non-gmo seeds. This gallery reception rolls out 2026’s artworks.
One Thousand and One Arabian Nights
Where: Athens Cultural Center, Athens, NY
The Athens Cultural Center is in a historic building in the center of town. They offer art classes, community events, and exhibitions. With their One Thousand and One Arabian Nights performances, two local residents bring these magical stories to life in a unique way. Come as you are, hang out, and hear some stories with others from the community. If you don’t usually go to this sort of small-venue, low-key event (one where you don’t choose your seat number and section ahead of time) you should give it a whirl; they can be anywhere from a breath of fresh air mid-week to life-changingly impactful. You literally never know.
Wreath Making With Maria Taylor
Where: O Zone, Red Hook, NY
You know what’s great about wreath-making workshops? Some place besides your dining room table and floor gets covered with berries, pitch, and pine needles, and you end up with a beautiful handmade wreath that puts anything you’d buy at a big box store to shame. The O Zone is the zero-waste sustainability hub and bulk refill market you wish you’d started (so cool!). Check out their list of bulk goods here.
Soap & Ceramics Holiday Workshop
Where: Sarah Mijares Studio, Chatham, NY
Sarah Mijares Fick creates stunning clay sculptures. She’s sharing her gift during the holidays, teaching 2 workshops where participants make natural soap and ceramic soap dishes. Take a look at Sarah’s work – it’s at once stunning and soothing. This seems like a great way to relax while creating some holiday gifts.
Hudson Valley Hullabaloo Holiday Market
Where: The Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center, Kingston, NY
A great holiday market! About 75 curated vendors converge in Midtown Kingston with all sorts of great gifts for the people on your list. There’s also a portraitist, a wet plate collodion booth, music, doughnuts, samosas (you can get your breakfast fried things and your lunch fried things all at once), and food from the beloved Harana - which just closed its doors in Accord - but is slated to be at the Hullabaloo.
New Paltz Turkey Trot
Where: Water Street, New Paltz, NY
New Paltz’s Turkey Trot benefits local charity People’s Place. It starts at 9 am and trotters can register the day before at People’s Place or on the morning of. Earn your turkey and see some neighbors before you’re trapped for the day with your family!
Turkey Trot at The Wylder
Where: Wylder, Windham, NY
This is a 3-mile trot along the beautiful Windham Path. There are costume prizes, a pie in exchange for charitable coat donations, hot cider, and cocoa. Everyone says this, but really, heed the advice of the local experts with decades of mountaintop experience and dress in layers. It could be sunny, warm, and dry, or cold, slushy, and slippery. Regardless, you’ll enjoy your turkey dinner so much more if you’ve done a trot in the morning.
Windham Festival Chamber Orchestra: Fauré and Friends
Where: Orpheum Performing Arts Center, Tannersville, NY
Since its formation in 2000, the Windham Festival Chamber Orchestra has showcased the talents of top New York-area musicians, including current and former members of some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras and ensembles, at venues such as the Windham Civic Center, the Doctorow Center for the Arts, and the Orpheum Performing Arts Center. On November 29th, members of the choral ensemble Ars Choralis will join the Festival’s Chamber Orchestra for an evening of music honoring the family in whose memory the concert is presented. Under the direction of Alexander Platt, Music Director of the Maverick Concerts in Woodstock, the performance continues the legacy of founder and former conductor Robert Manno.
The Bug Club
Where: Tubby's, Kingston, NY
Tubby’s in Kingston is known for its Mezcal selection and underground music. Several of their December shows are already sold out but there are tickets left (right now) for The Bug Club. They’re a Welsh rock trio known for their offbeat, uplifting music with lyrics that tell tales of the everyday. Get tickets before they go!
High Exposure: Climbing in the Shawangunks
Where: Mohonk Preserve, New Paltz, NY
Looking at the incredible photographs by Chris Vultaggio is a little bit like climbing yourself. A bit....
Coxsackie Parade of Lights
Where: Coxsackie, NY
The Coxsackie Fire Department decks the streets. Hang out with your neighbors while holiday lights twinkle.
A Christmas Carol: Live Radio Play
Where: Rosendale Theatre, Rosendale, NY
In this production, Broadway veterans Byron Jennings, Caroline McCormack, Daniel Davis, Stella Everett, and Cooper Jennings will walk the boards Upstate. Join them for the classic journey with three ghosts and a grumpy Scrouge, presented a little differently than you’ve likely experienced in the past. This live, on-stage radio play includes vintage commercials and sound effects for an authentic 1940s radio experience. It will be a worthy evening of Holiday entertainment.
Adam Rudolph's Hu Vibrational Vibe Ride: Trance Meditation Music for Peace
Where: The Local, Saugerties, NY
We’ll let someone with a lot of musical background describe this….
“Hu Vibrational wants to chill you out with James Brown beats and trip-hop moves played on instruments otherwise best suited for indigenous ritual ceremonies.” – Pitchfork
The Local in Saugerties has something interesting to offer on a weekly basis. Go once and you’ll become a local regular.
TANGOS, BALLADS, AND BLUES … TRANSFORMED
Where: Copland House, Brewster, NY
Following Igor Stravinsky’s motto that “music must sing and it must dance”, this program emerges from wild tangos, soothing ballads, intimate musings, and brilliant flourishes. Headlined by the World Premiere of the latest tour-de-force from The Graduate Center’s own in-house musical wizard John Musto – his Sonata for Clarinet and Piano, performed by its two brilliant dedicatees, Derek Bermel and Michael Boriskin. We can't guarantee it, but it doesn't look like that pesky drummer boy will be anywhere on the program!
Camp Saint Helene x Scout Pare-Phillips w/ Brower
Where: Colony, Woodstock, NY
Head to the Colony on December 7th for some gentle indie grooves and bring a friend. They’ll enjoy it so much more than that holiday candle you were going to get them! If you think they'd rather have the candle, pick a different friend.
Hudson Winter Walk
Where: Warren Street, Hudson, NY
Ok, this is more raucous than the rest BUT Hudson's Winter Walk might be the most famous walk in the Hudson Valley. It is spectacular! Musicians roam the streets, there are treats galore, and shopkeepers are ready - they've spent the fall planning what they'll do to make guests welcome and their shop stand out from the crowd. We think anything where you walk around at night with twinkle lights is romantic enough to make up for a little holiday wildness. If it's a drive for you, it's 100% worth it.
Seán Heely's Celtic Christmas
Where: Assembly, Kingston, NY
Assembly is bringing some great acts to an old schoolhouse in Uptown Kingston. If you want a holiday outing without a lot of American holiday tunes (because how many times can you hear “It’s Cold Outside"), this is our pick! Seán Heely is a U.S. National Scottish Fiddle Champion, National Champion in Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) Song, and one of the most dynamic Celtic artists of his generation. He and his band will be kilted and ready for an incredible night of music with fiddling, harp, bagpipes, and drums.
Back In Black: The True AC/DC Experience
Where: Daryl's House, Pawling, NY
When you need to drown out the holiday tunes that are living in your head rent-free, you need AD/DC. Back In Black has a catalogue of over 80 AC/DC songs (who knew they had so many? True fans, that's who)! Daryl's House is an intimate venue and Back In Black will get loud. Holiday tune overload, solved!
The Son Dogs at Sunken City Cider
Where: Sunken City Cider, Gilboa, NY
A father and son duo spin a set that spans genres and generations around their shared love of music and pups.
Catskill Solstice Stroll
Where: Catskill, NY
The shops of Catskill stay open late into the evening, the streets are dotted with firepits, musicians, people in costume, and tables to grab a hot chocolate, a hot cider, or a cookie, and the theatre is open for a couple of “classic” holiday films (Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol and Pee-Wee’s Christmas Special). This is as chill as a winter walk gets.
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