Fairhaven plans Old-Time Holiday on Saturday, December 12

Saturday, December 12 is the time to visit Fairhaven if you want to feel a sense of old-time holiday spirit as the town celebrates its 18th annual Old-Time Holiday. Holiday marketplaces and crafts fairs, luncheons and an old fashioned community sing-along are among the ways to enjoy the season of good cheer. For children, there are cookie decorating, craft making and face painting opportunities, and some chances for photographs with Santa or Father Christmas.

A full day of events from morning into early evening are scheduled in the historical town center.

Friends of the Millicent Library will be celebrating the new chairs and tables they provided for the library auditorium while offering children the chance to make some holiday crafts. Visitors should use the handicap accessible auditorium entrance on Walnut Street to stop by between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. The dedication of the chairs will take place at 9:00 a.m. Childrens crafting and light refreshments will follow. Free.

Step back in time at Holiday Marketplace which will take place at the beautiful, gothic Unitarian Memorial Church, 102 Green Street. Local artists and crafters will set up display booths offering a unique collection of holiday goods. Baked goods and holiday greens will also be available. Saint Nicholas will be on hand, too, to greet visitors. Admission to the marketplace is free. It runs from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., during which time the sanctuary of this magnificent English gothic style “cathedral” will be open for guided tours.

The Unitarian Church will also hold a soup and sandwich luncheon at its Harrop Center building on Center Street from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Hot soup, chowder and a variety of sandwiches will be available.

The English Tudor style Our Lady’s Haven, 75 Center Street, built originally as the Tabitha Inn by Henry H. Rogers in 1905, will open its lobby to visitors from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. There they will be treated to Christmas cookies and hot chocolate. Santa and Mrs. Claus will visit from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. to meet children and pose for photos. Sponsored by the Diocesan Health Facilities Organization. The lobby is handicap accessible via Laurel St. side entrance.

The Town Hall Shops at Town Hall, 40 Center Street, will be the location where local non-profit, civic, school and church groups will sell crafts, holiday ornaments, baked goods and other items as well as hold raffles and silent auctions. The Town Hall will be open from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Twenty-seven groups selling goods include the East Fairhaven Improvement Association, St. Joseph’s Church, Fairhaven Association for Music Education (F.A.M.E.), the Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship Society, The Church of the Good Shepherd, George H. Taber Masonic Lodge, Fairhaven Village Militia, the V.F.W. Ladies Auxiliary, Scout Troop & Cub Pack 52, the Fairhaven Mothers Club, The FHS World Language Club, Angels of Fairhaven, Shining Tides Quilters, some Fairhaven High School classes, and others. For the children there will be cookie decorating, craft making, and face painting. Fairhaven music students from the public schools will be presenting musical performances during the day. F.A.M.E. and the Boy Scouts will offer food and refreshment outside on the Town Hall steps. Admission is free. The Town Hall Shops event is sponsored by the Fairhaven Office of Tourism. The Town Hall auditorium is handicap accessible.

More activity will be taking place from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the First Congregational Church, 34 Center Street, where The Old Brick Church Faire will be held. Crafters will be selling their wares. Vermont cheddar cheese, baked goods, gourmet foods and other items will be sold. There will also be a raffle. “Heavenly Treasures,” the church’s thrift shop, will be open throughout the day. A lobster roll luncheon will be served as well, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. or until sold out. Chowder and hotdogs will also be available. The whole building is handicap accessible.

If you’re in a crafty mood, children and adults can make holiday ornaments at a cost of $2 to $5 each at Art on Center, 15 Center Street, between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. There will be plenty of materials to work with. Hot chocolate and cookies will be served. There will also be members’ art on sale in the gallery during the day. Art on Center is handicap accessible.

To cap off the evening, the Fairhaven Improvement Association will hold its annual sing-along on the Town Hall steps starting at 7:00 p.m. In a tradition dating back to 1975, luminaria will light the street while community members sing carols until a visitor from the North Pole arrives on a fire truck. There will be refreshments in the Town Hall afterwards. Free.

The Old-Time Holiday in Fairhaven is sponsored by the participating non-profit, civic and church groups in town, with promotion coordinated by the Fairhaven Office of Tourism, which first developed the cooperative event in 1998.

All of December’s events in Fairhaven are shown online at http://FairhavenTours.com A handout sheet is also available at the Visitors Center at the Academy Building, 141 Main Street, Fairhaven, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 8:00 a.m. to Noon and 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. The Office of Tourism telephone number is 508-979-4085, email is FairhavenTours@aol.com. The Visitors Center will not be open on Saturday, December 12 during the Old-Time Holiday.