Write a commentMayor Billy Barlow announced today the City of Oswego will hosting several different events and initiatives throughout the holiday season to encourage local shopping, promote downtown businesses, offer youth activities, and drum up the holiday spirit.
The announcement today includes the recently announced downtown Holiday Tree lighting on November 26th.
“The holiday season is a special time here in the City of Oswego and we have developed a package of events and special initiatives to really focus on bringing more spirit and excitement to our community this year. This holiday season will be the first “normal” season following the pandemic, so we hope these programs and events really make a positive impact on restoring the traditional local holiday spirit,” said Mayor Billy Barlow.
Upcoming City of Oswego Holiday Programs and Events
- Holiday Coloring Contest – The Oswego Youth Bureau hosts a coloring contest that has been distributed to local students in grades pre-k through 6th in the Oswego City School District. Entries are due on November 10th and winners will be announced at the Tree Lighting Ceremony.
- Holiday Open House - November 13th – Noon to 5pm, small business holiday open house- kick off to the holiday shopping season with local businesses inviting patrons to check out holiday specials
- Holiday History Shoppe Opens - November 26th The City of Oswego Downtown Visitor’s Center at 201 West First Street will be converted to a history shoppe open Thursdays-Saturdays Noon-7pm showing local history "featuring local historical societies and several non-profit organizations"
- Small Business Saturday on November 26th – Many businesses and restaurants throughout the Oswego community will offer specials and deals on merchandise and store items
- City of Oswego Tree Lighting & Fireworks Celebration – November 26th – Celebrate outside City Hall from 3:00pm to 6:00pm with fun, festive activities, a visit from Santa, a live stage show, the 6:00pm tree lighting, with fireworks over the Oswego River at 6:05pm
- Santa Slow Roll - December 2nd & 3rd – The Oswego Youth Bureau along with the Oswego Fire Department will again host the popular Santa Slow Roll as Santa cruises on a fire truck through Oswego neighborhoods. Santa will visit the east side of the city on Friday evening (12/2) and the west side on Saturday evening (12/3). The slow roll begins at dusk. Monitor the “Mayor Billy Barlow” Facebook page for the route the morning of the event.
- Late Night Shopping - December 16th - Participating Oswego small businesses will be open until 11:00pm to accommodate late night shoppers.
- Santa Polar Express - December 18th – The Oswego Youth Bureau will host Santa's Polar Express Train. Similar to the Santa Slow Roll, Santa will travel the polar express throughout the city during the day with a start time 3pm. Monitor the “Mayor Billy Barlow” Facebook page for the route the day of the event.
- Home for the Holidays Raffle -Shop at participating downtown small businesses between December 3rd and December 11th and you will automatically enter a raffle for a giant gift basket of local business goodies and gift certificates!
To get live updates on city events, enroll in the free City of Oswego messaging system at https://oswegony.alertmedia.com/public.
