"The RCA Holiday Stroll is stepping it up this year, bigger and better." That is how the Rowayton Civic Association introduces this year's Stroll. The full schedule shows what the line means in practice. Santa's arrival, two holiday markets, the tree lighting, a cocktail contest, a beer garden, a toy drive and the Rowayton Arts Center's longest gallery day of the season all happen on Saturday, December 5. Nearly all of it sits between Pinkney Park and the Firehouse.
Darien and Ridgefield spread their holiday programming across several weekends. Rowayton puts most of its season into one stretch of hours on one street. That day has a hinge, too. At 2 p.m., Rowayton Avenue closes to cars between Witch Lane and McKinley Street, and the village changes from a riverside morning into an evening street party. Planning around that switch matters more than planning around any one event.
The Night Before Sets the Route
The weekend starts on Friday, December 4, with the Holiday Bike Parade from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The RCA asks riders to string lights on their bikes. It also says there will be places to gather and watch all along Lower Rowayton Avenue.
Friday is also opening day for the Rowayton Arts Center's Holiday Gift Show at 145 Rowayton Avenue, open noon to 5 p.m. The gallery fills with work by local artists and artisans: ornaments, jewelry, ceramics, knitted pieces, cards and prints. It also carries a selection made by the Rowayton Gardeners. All proceeds go to the Arts Center. Friday afternoon is the calmer time to shop the show, before Saturday's crowds arrive.
Saturday Morning Belongs to the River
The Saturday program officially runs from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. The morning is built around the Five Mile River. Watch parties along the river start at 10:30, and Santa arrives by boat at Pinkney Park at 11:00. He stays about two hours for photos. The RCA notes that there is no official photographer, so families take their own pictures on their phones.
Children have plenty to do in the park before or after the photo. The RCA lists a holiday bounce house, a station for writing letters to Santa, milk and cookies, and a mechanical reindeer.
Two markets share Pinkney Park that day. The Rowayton Gardeners' Christmas Market runs 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and sells handcrafted holiday décor and gifts made by the Gardeners, with complimentary Prosecco. Beside it is the RCA's Holiday Market, which the association says will run until 7 p.m. with an expanded vendor list. The RCA plans to name those vendors in the days before the Stroll.
The morning is also the best time to bring a toy. The Mike Barbis Toy Drive collects unwrapped toys at both the park and the Fire Station. The RCA is also providing a link to buy toys for the Carver Foundation, which serves children ages 0 to 13. If you drop a toy at the park during Santa's visit, you won't have to carry it through the evening crowd.
At 2 p.m., the Avenue Becomes the Venue
Rowayton Avenue closes at 2:00 p.m. between Witch Lane and McKinley Street and stays closed until 7:00. The RCA says merchants are adding new decorations and special treats along the street. With the road closed, the action spreads from the park onto the avenue itself.
Half an hour after the closure, the contest at the Rowayton Fire House opens. It was long known as an eggnog contest and now covers festive holiday cocktails more broadly. Local entrants compete for the best holiday cocktail in town, and tasting runs from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. The RCA also lists a holiday beer garden that runs into the early evening, plus "Post Parties" on Rowayton Avenue after the lighting.
The Arts Center stays open through all of this. On December 5 the Holiday Gift Show runs 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., two hours longer than its regular Saturday hours. That makes 145 Rowayton Avenue the one indoor stop open from the morning to the end of the day.
| Saturday, December 5 | What happens | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 10:00 a.m. | Holiday Gift Show opens for extended hours | Rowayton Arts Center, 145 Rowayton Ave. |
| 10:30 a.m. | Watch parties begin for Santa's arrival | Along the Five Mile River |
| 11:00 a.m. | Santa arrives by boat, photos for about two hours | Pinkney Park |
| 11:00 a.m. | Rowayton Gardeners' Christmas Market opens | Pinkney Park |
| 2:00 p.m. | Rowayton Avenue closes to traffic | Witch Lane to McKinley Street |
| 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. | Holiday cocktail contest tasting | Rowayton Fire House |
| 4:45 p.m. | Santa leaves the Firehouse on foot | Firehouse to Pinkney Park |
| 5:00 p.m. | Light Up Rowayton, with Rowayton Elementary carolers | Pinkney Park |
| 7:00 p.m. | Markets, gallery and road closure end | Village center |
The Walk That Ends the Afternoon
The lighting begins with a walk. At 4:45 p.m., Santa leaves the Firehouse and walks to Pinkney Park, and the RCA invites everyone to join and follow him into the park. Rowayton Elementary School carolers sing before the trees light up at 5:00.
The timing ties the day together. The cocktail tasting ends at 4:30 at the Firehouse, and the walk to the lighting leaves from the same building fifteen minutes later. After the lights go on, there are two more hours of closed street, open markets and an open gallery before 7 p.m. That is when Rowayton Avenue becomes the evening crowd's place to eat.
Several places to eat sit along the avenue. Rowayton Seafood at 89 Rowayton Avenue runs both a fish market and a restaurant. SAILS American Grill is at 148 Rowayton Avenue and takes reservations online, which helps on the busiest evening of the village's year. Rowayton Market is at 157 Rowayton Avenue. Arden's, at 158 Rowayton Avenue, takes scheduled online orders, which lets you time a pickup around the lighting.
Getting In When the Main Street Is Closed
With Rowayton Avenue closed for five hours, parking moves to the edges of the village. The RCA names three options:
- The Witch Lane lot, which stays open during the closure
- Rowayton Elementary School
- Rowayton Train Station
If you plan to drive in after 2 p.m., the train station and the school are the safer choices, since the closure begins at Witch Lane. The Gardeners also list Old School Field as parking for their market. One building will be dark all day. The Rowayton Library's December calendar shows it closed for all of December 5 for the Stroll, so pick up holds or returns before Saturday.
The Dates on Either Side of the Saturday
The rest of the season is made up of single events that lead up to December 5 or follow it. Each one is short, and most are ahead of us as of this week:
- Sunday, November 22, 4 to 6 p.m. The opening reception for the Rowayton Arts Center's Winter Small Works Juried Show. It is an open-theme, all-media exhibition, and entries were asked not to be holiday-themed. The show stays up through December 24, so it hangs alongside the Holiday Gift Show on Stroll day.
- Thursday, November 26, 9 a.m. The RCA's Turkey Trot, a 5K plus the Gobble Gallop, a one-mile run for kids. It starts in front of the Rowayton Community Center at 33 Highland Avenue. Bib pickup opens at 7:45 a.m. and check-in starts at 8:30 near the library. The RCA recommends picking up bibs ahead of time, because it can't guarantee race-day pickup. Registered runners can run without a bib, but they won't get a time. Parking is at Graham Capital, 40 Highland Avenue, across the street. Spectators get in free, and strollers are welcome.
- Friday, December 4. The Holiday Bike Parade from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., and opening day of the Holiday Gift Show from noon to 5 p.m.
- Saturday, December 5. The Stroll, described above.
- Sunday, December 6, noon to 5 p.m. The last of the Gift Show's extended opening-weekend hours. After that, the gallery keeps regular hours: Tuesday through Friday noon to 5, Saturday 10 to 5 and Sunday noon to 5. It is closed Mondays and open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
- Saturday, December 12, 6 to 7 p.m. The RCA's Nativity Pageant at Pinkney Park, with local performers, clergy, live music and pets. It returns to the park a week after the Stroll, for one hour.
Every event on this list is listed for one day or one evening. The Arts Center's two shows are the exception, running through December 24, and the gallery stays open on December 5 for as long as the street is closed.
If the December 5 crowd on Rowayton Avenue has you thinking about your own place in the village, whether that's a move closer to Pinkney Park or a sale timed for spring, Serena Richards at CT Home Keys offers a discreet look at how Rowayton's center is trading now. Request a Private Market Consultation.
