The Ultimate Guide to Holiday Events in Havre de Grace 2022
Every year, Havre de Grace overflows with holiday spirit, offering a host of events and activities full of holiday lights and cheer! Nothing puts you in the holiday spirit more than a stroll through the festively decorated downtown to the sounds of your favorite Christmas songs, while enjoying creative holiday displays in the windows of every shop.
Stop in for a warm hot chocolate or a bite to eat before catching a holiday performance, the holiday parade and tree lighting or a visit with Santa! Find a gift for everyone on your list at the local shops or try a Yiftee gift card to give the gift of shopping at over 25 Havre de Grace businesses!
To be sure you don’t miss any excitement, follow this guide to discover the holidays in Havre de Grace this season!
- December 1-3 | Holiday Tree Jubilee
- December 2 | Holly Jolly First Friday, Parade and Tree Lighting
- December 5 – 25 | The Greater Havre de Grace Nativity Display Challenge
- December 2, 9, 16 | Visit With Santa
- December 3 | Christmas Teddy Bear Tea
- December 3 | The Polar Express at the Decoy Museum
- December 3, 17 | Youth Arts Programs for the Holidays
- December 9, 16 | Holly Jolly Fridays
- December 9-17 | A Christmas Story the Musical (Tidewater Players)
- December 8 | Candlelight Tour Gala and Auction
- December 10 | 50th Annual Candlelight Tour
- December 10 | The Melting Pot Big Band
- December 10 & 11 | 30th Annual Lock House Holiday Boutique
- December 10 & 11 | Holiday Boutique at the Lighthouse Keepers Museum
- December 18 | A Winter’s Eve of Revelry: Celebration of the Season
- December 31 | 24th Annual Tour of Historic Churches
- December 31 | New Years Eve Duck Drop & Fireworks
Holiday Tree Jubilee
December 1, 2, 3
Joseph L. Davis Post 47 American Legion
501 St. John Street
December 1st from 6 pm-9 pm: Join us for a special “Preview” of the Holiday Tree Jubilee! Meet our tree designers and get the first chance to buy your favorite tree before the crowds come in on the weekend. Refreshments provided with ticket price. Cash bar. Tickets available at the Havre de Grace Visitor Center (450 Pennington Avenue) or on Eventbrite.
Join us for this annual fundraiser to support the Havre de Grace Independence Day Celebration. Stop by to view and bid on our amazing collection of decorated trees December 2 – 4 pm -8 pm & December 3 – 11 am- 3 pm! It’s just the thing to put you in the holiday spirit!
Holly Jolly First Friday, Parade and Tree Lighting
December 2
4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Havre de Grace celebrates the holiday season with a parade and tree lighting ceremony with the Mayor and Santa. Following the tree lighting, Santa & Mrs. Claus will open up their house at Santaland to hear your holiday wishes. Get a jump on the shopping season at the downtown businesses and unique gifts from First Friday Vendors on Pennington Avenue. Ride the holiday train to Franklin Street which will be dressed in holiday style and will host children’s activities, crafts and holiday characters. Music and live performances on stage at Rochambeau Plaza throughout this special night. For more information call 410-939-2100 or visit https://explorehavredegrace.com/event/holly-jolly-first-friday-2/
The Greater Havre de Grace Nativity Display Challenge
December 5- 25
The Susquehanna Ministerium invites the Greater Havre de Grace Community to remember the reason for the season! Residences and businesses are asked to display an outdoor or indoor nativity scene between December 5 and December 25, 2022 and email pictures or videos of your displays to SusquehannaMinisteriumHdG@
Visit With Santa
December 2, 9, 16
6:00PM – 8:00pm
115 N. Washington Street
Santa’s house is decorated and ready for Santa’s visit on North Union Ave! Don’t miss a chance to see Santa before he heads back to the North Pole to prepare for his big trip! Bring your letter to drop in his mailbox on your next visit.
Christmas Teddy Bear Tea
December 3
12:00 pm
461 Quaker Bottom Road
Steppingstone Farm Museum invites you to a Christmas Teddy Bear Tea. Perfect for ages 5+ with an adult. Guests will enjoy finger sandwiches, refreshments and holiday stories while cuddling their favorite stuffed animal or doll. Cost is $15 per person. Space is limited.
The Polar Express at the Decoy Museum
December 3
Doors open at 6:30 pm, Movie starts at 7:00 pm
215 Giles Street
Come in your jammies, bring blankets and pillows and enjoy! Hot chocolate, cookies and popcorn will be available while watching the movie. Every child will receive a golden ticket and a gift. $10 per child, 2 adults free with a paid child. Buy tickets on the Decoy Museum website or in person at the museum.
Youth Arts Programs for the Holidays
December 3, 17
10:00 am-11:30 am
Fire Hall Studio at the Opera House
121 N. Union Avenue
Join the Havre de Grace Arts Collective Youth Arts Program during the holiday season. December 3 – Gifts You Can Make. Local artist, Barbara Sponn, will join us to make holiday pictures with jewelry and other found objects. All materials are provided, but feel free to bring some trinkets or bits of jewelry to add!
December 17 – Holiday caroling. Meet us at the Opera House and join us for outdoor Holiday Caroling at St. John’s Commons, St John’s Towers, and Always in Grace. Bring song sheets if you have them – we’ll have song sheets too, and we’ll sing the favorites you probably know! Dress warm, and wear something festive! For more information: https://hdgartscollective.org/youth-art-program/
Holly Jolly Fridays
December 9, 16
6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Shop Small this season in an amazing Holiday Wonderland. Thousands of lights adorn our trees, holiday music fills our streets and our amazing merchants welcome you and help you pick the perfect gift for everyone on your list. BRING THE KIDS: free crafts for the kids at 203 N. Washington Street, hot chocolate and cookies with story time and sing along at Concord Point Coffee (217 N. Washington Street), live music at our 25 foot Christmas tree, visit Santa in Santaland on Washington Street, face painting, balloon art, holiday characters, and so much more. Shop, dine, sing and enjoy Havre de Grace!
Tidewater Players presents: A Christmas Story the Musical
December 9-17
Opera House, 121 N. Union Avenue
A Must See at the Cultural Center at the Opera House. Follow the antics of nine year old Ralphie Parker and his family during their Christmas holiday. Filled with quirky and lovable characters, this zany, heartfelt, and nostalgic musical is as delightful as the biggest, shiniest present under the tree on Christmas morning. Tickets available at the Havre de Grace Visitor Center or on Eventbrite.
Click here for show times and to buy tickets
Candlelight Tour Gala and Auction
December 8th
6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Vandiver Inn, 301 S. Union Avenue
The Lock House Museum is celebrating its 50th house tour this year with a gala to recognize this incredible milestone. Hundreds of homes in Havre de Grace have participated and thousands of luminary bags have lit the way. Fifty house tours later and we are celebrating with a dinner at the Vandiver Inn. Along with the sumptuous menu and strolls down memory lane there will be a silent auction. Tickets are available here: https://www.vandiverinn.com/eventtickets
50th Annual Candlelight Tour
December 10
4:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Celebrating 50 years! Sponsored by the Lock House Museum, this year’s tour will be a mix of outside venues with music and indoor tours of beautifully holiday-decorated homes, churches and museums. This self-paced tour includes 17 homes, museums, and churches located across the city. Tourgoers will receive a map and a brochure of the stops along with a collectible button for entry. Enjoy a meal or shopping before or after the tour as many restaurants and shops have special deals for ticket holders! Tickets are available prior to the tour online for $25 per person until midnight on December 9th. The ‘day of’ tickets are $35. Tickets will also be available for sale at the Lock House Museum and HdG Visitor Center prior to the event. Online tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/50th-annual-candlelight-house-tour-of-havre-de-grace-tickets-427448719627
The Melting Pot Big Band
December 10
8:00 pm
STAR Centre
700 Congress Avenue
The Arts Collective is delighted to bring Scott Stansfield’s exciting and brassy Melting Pot Big Band to the STAR Centre this year, featuring Karen Vincent & Ken Ebo. Comprised of rhythm professionals drawn from across Maryland, Pennsylvania, DC, and Virginia, the Melting Pot Big Band has been rolling like a steaming juggernaut through the local music scene, and will provide you with a thrilling Yule experience you’re not likely to forget. Join us for an evening of swinging Christmas standards which is certain to leave you with a smile on your face and holiday cheer in your heart. Tickets available at the Havre de Grace Visitor Center or on Eventbrite! Follow The S.T.A.R. Centre on Facebook!
30th Annual Lock House Holiday Boutique
December 10 | 9 am-4 pm
December 11 | 11 am-3 pm
817 Conesteo Street, 410-939-5780
Celebrating 30 years! This annual 2-day Lock House Boutique gives our Lock House ladies a chance to sell their homemade or home-baked items, holiday centerpieces and greens, and vintage jewelry every year. To celebrate the momentous anniversary, the Boutique Committee has commissioned a special commemorative Lock House calendar featuring the art of 12 local painters depicting the historic Lock House and grounds. There is also a special indoor display featuring the work of 5 Havre de Grace authors with signed copies of their books.
Holiday Boutique at the Concord Point Keepers House Museum
December 10, 11
12:00 pm – 5:00 pm
714 Concord Street, 410-939-3214
Shop and support the Concord Point Lighthouse & Keeper’s House Museum. Unique gifts, Christmas ornaments, homemade goodies, model lighthouses and more.
A Winter’s Eve of Revelry: Celebration of the Season
December 18
3:00 pm
Opera House, 121 N. Union Avenue
Join us for a joyous and memorable musical feast in celebration of the holidays, with the Mid-Atlantic’s finest traditional musicians presenting a marvelous mix of seasonal and holiday favorites from far and wide. Included will be Scandinavian, Irish and Scottish, French-Canadian, Appalachian and bluegrass music, plus some fun and festive surprises. The Baltimore-based Ken & Brad Kolodner Quartet (with Rachel Eddy and Alex Lacquement) will join with Charm City Junction, the Irish-Old-time-Bluegrass fusion band. Joining the fun will be Scottish National Fiddle Champion who celebrates the recent CD release with Ken Kolodner of “On A Cold Winter’s Day”— plus the astonishing percussive footwork from acclaimed dancers Laura Robertson and Adam Wheeler! Expect rambunctious old-time, Bluegrass and Celtic sounds that are sure to get your feet tapping and your holiday spirits soaring! This event will be at the Cultural Center at the Opera House.
24th Annual Tour of Historic Churches
December 31
1:00 pm
New Years Eve Duck Drop & Fireworks
December 31
10:30 pm-12:00 am
Concord Point Park
700 Concord Street
Celebrate 2023 and reminisce about the wonderful memories you made in 2022. Havre de Grace Annual Duck Drop will take place at our waterfront Concord Point Park. Countdown to 2023 with our annual duck drop followed by a spectacular midnight fireworks display. You don’t want to miss this amazing event!