Christmas In Rockport, MA – The Full Event Calendar
Here at the Addison Choate we are looking forward to Christmas in Rockport, MA.
It’s a time that we’re reminded to shun our proclivities to become squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching covetous old sinners, and focus on generosity, kindness and charity.
If you’re looking to rekindle a little of that holiday magic, you should consider a weekend trip to Rockport, Massachusetts. It’s is bustling all December long and the charming village conjures up memories of Christmas past.
Every weekend in December, Rockport offers events and gatherings to celebrate the holiday. From tree lightings, to Santa’s arrival by boat and local artists and artisans demonstrating their crafts, it’s a refreshing month-long celebration. Here is the full Event Calendar:
On December 3rd at 1:00pm you can catch up with the big man himself and make one less plea for the “nice” list. Santa will arrive in Rockport in style aboard a lobster boat, of course. How else would Saint Nick arrive in Rockport?
Santa will take a brisk ride across Sandy Bay before docking at T-Wharf and greeting the cheerful crowd. After that, Santa will hop aboard a forest fire truck and head to his Rockport workshop at the Baptist Church from 1:15pm to 1:30pm where he will visit and have photos taken with children and maybe some older children too…
Then Santa will meander over to Dock square and greet the crowd for the Tree lighting festivities. After which Santa hops on a fire truck to escort his jolliness back to the North Pole to put on the final touches for Christmas.
After you’ve had a chance to get a photo with Santa and maybe warm up with a nice cup of chowder or in front of the fireplace at the Addison Choate, you can head over to Dock Square for the annual tree lighting.
The scene at Dock Square is out of a Hallmark movie and has been beautifully chronicled in Jean Woodbury’s book, The Tree in Dock Square. There is also a fantastic video called The Tree By The Sea, documenting the process of finding a local tree, cutting it down and bringing it Dock Square.
Looking for the perfect gift, but don’t want to break the bank! You won’t want to miss the Rockport Holiday Party & Half Price Sale! This year the event will be hosted by Roy Moore’s Fish Shack and will include some appetizers and cash bar!
You be able to kick off your holiday shopping experience, like a local, with 1/2 price deals on many local handmade goods, art, and other gifts from Rockport businesses. You bid on the items that you are interested in and it’s a fun night! Perfect to pair with the Celtic Sojourn!
Delight in a festive Friday shopping night with many of the local artisans and galleries remaining open for extended hours and offering exclusive promotions, prizes and other giveaways. This year, shoppers can collect stamps on their shopping cards. Each stamp will count for a raffle ticket entry. There will be live drawings at Rockport’s hottest new restaurant Fleur Cuisine at 9:00pm.
Stroll through the historic village of Rockport along Main Street, Dock Square, and Bearskin Neck to the sounds of carols and songs of the season to kick your holiday spirit into high gear.
Is there anything more romantic than a Horse drawn carriage ride during the holiday season? We submit that there is one thing: A horse drawn carriage ride during the holiday season on Rockport’s Bearskin Neck! We’re excited to announce that the horses will be back this year in Rockport.
Enjoy shopping and holiday fun on Bearskin Neck and the additional treat of a ride through town.
Brian O’Donovan’s A Celtic Sojourn has entertained radio audiences for decades. Now celebrating 20 years of holiday performances, the Christmas live version of the show draws inspiration from Christian, Pagan and Celtic tradition to bring life to the season through music.
With an impressive lineup of high caliber musicians, singers and dancers from the Celtic world, the show promises to become a new Christmas tradition for you and your family.
Artists include Scottish singer phenom, Siobhan Miller, Irish Step champions, former Riverdancers, the Harney Academy of Irish Dance, Swedish musician Olov Johansson who will be playing a unique Swedish instrument, the Nyckelharpa and much more!
This spirited ensemble is comprised of talented local musicians who are sure to get your holiday spirits flowing. The diverse big band takes its musical cues from genres ranging from jazz to soul to swing and rock n’ roll. You have two chances to catch them on December 17th so don’t miss out on the fun!
On Saturday, December 17th you can also watch a torch-lit live re-enactment of the Nativity on Dock Square and Main Street by the Rockport Art Association.
The event was originally created by Dr. William F. Strangman Mrs. Aldro Hibbard as a gift from the Rockport Arts Association to the village. It’s still organized by the Rockport Art Association and Museum and each year hundreds of spectators gather to witness this impressive live event. Witness the story of baby Jesus in the Bethlehem Inn and stable.
The pageant kicks off with a torch lit procession through Dock Square and up Main Street to the Congregational Church where the timeless story is brought to life.
Ring in the New Year with Rockport New Year’s Eve! Finally back, after a 2 year hiatus. With 60 shows across 14 different venues, New Year’s Eve in Rockport is fun-filled way to book end the year that has passed and acknowledge the exciting new adventure to come.
There is free parking at Whistlestop Mall and a bus service from the parking lot and train station. If you’re staying at Addison Choate, our Rockport, MA Hotel, we have parking for each of our rooms on-site and you can just walk downtown to the festivities.
The events kick off around 6pm and run until the ball drops. Performances include a wide-variety of music, story-telling, puppets and much more! Buttons, purchased in advance, are only $15 for adults and $10 for kids and children 12 and under are admitted free of charge. Buttons purchased from December 25th on are $20 for adults and $10 for kids. You can purchase your Rockport New Years Eve buttons here.
So you’re feeling a bit like scrooge, take a weekend to visit us here on the North Shore. We would love to have you stay in one of our rooms at the Addison Choate. Christmas in Rockport is sure to turn any Scrooge back into a Fred.
We will leave you with this quote from Fred: “I have always thought of Christmas-time, when it has come round-apart from the veneration due to its sacred name and origin, if anything belonging to it can be apart from that-as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”
