Troy Victorian Stroll

The Troy Victorian Stroll is an interesting case for us as to how an event with a very long history and an online presence since the early days of the Internet has changed. This event in particular is a fixture in the town of Troy in New York State since 1982 and lasts from noon until late afternoon though as the years have gone by, the duration has steadily increased to cover the entire day. The Troy Victorian Stroll has since ceased to exist under this name and rebranded under the Victorian Stroll – a simpler and more streamlined choice, which has led to the deletion of the previous site. Now the Victorian Stroll exists under this streamlined url and enjoys a newly built site that is no longer an archaic leftover from Flash animations and basic HTML.

But what about the event? The Troy Victorian Stroll has always been a major, proper Christmas extravaganza that colonized the entire downtown area that happens every year with the generous support of major sponsors like KeyBank, Jones Hacker Murphy LLC, MVP Health Care, River Street Market, Pioneer Bank and Rensselaer Country as the event’s platinum sponsors. There are many more local businesses that help the holiday stroll to come into reality.

We don’t have a current estimation as to how many the crowds have become for the 37th Annual Troy Victorian Stroll, which was held on December 8th, but in earlier years the attendance had grown to somewhere around 15,000 visitors from all over Troy and its neighboring towns and cities. There’s a great reason to get into your car and drive to Troy and catch the Victorian Stroll, since it comes prepared with over 50 shops, boutiques and galleries that will be open throughout the day and that is not counting the dozens of live performances. These ranged from singers and musicians to magicians, storytellers, dancers, rides, crafts and refreshments.

The holiday celebration evolved naturally as downtown Troy has kept and maintained much of its original architecture, which dates back to the Victorian era and when fully decorated turns into the stuff of fairy tales. It’s amidst this magical décor that that you can fully immerse yourself into the spirit of Christmas along with your entire family. The Troy Victorian Stroll is community oriented, which is why the event is free for everyone and doesn’t charge any admission fees to experience.

In the past, organisers have brought some incredible attractions like Sonny, Perley and the Sonny Daye Ensemble, who performed special Christmas-infused and uplifting jazz performances along with the jazz guitarist John Charles Cooke. New-age keyboardist Adam Jones also performed in the past as well as the Capital District Chinese Dancers, which created a very eclectic and inclusive vibe that welcomed people from all demographics. The list of previous attractions extends to the free Hedley Trolley ride, Newfoundland-drawn wagon rides, musical group Hair of the Dog, the Uncle Sam Sparklers, Cranberry the Clown, singer-songwriter Peggy Eyres, and the Troy Victorian Stroll Craft Show in the Atrium.

It wouldn’t be a Christmas celebration without the right holiday musical programme and to this end, visitors could enjoy the stylings of the College of Saint Rose Masterworks Chorale, which used to take the stage at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Another major source of enjoyment in the past were the Bethel Baptist Gospel Choir for that soaring gospel sound and the cheerful tunes from the Doc Scanlon's Rhythm Boys and the Lustre Kings.

The Troy Victorian Stroll also has a lot to offer to children. Each edition has a Santa strolling the city to give gifts to good boys and girls, and that’s not counting all the exciting attractions aimed at the youngest from the family. You could bring your children to see magicians perform wonders, see juggling, join in sing-alongs and lose themselves arts and crafts projects. Adults can immerse themselves in local history through the open houses program. There are churches and organizations that feature tours and demonstrations.

If by any chance, visitors have not finished with their Christmas shopping, then you have the best opportunity to do so as the shops, boutiques and galleries in downtown are staffed, open and await eager shoppers to make last minute purchases. After this much activity, guests could also hit the town for delicious food from the best dining spots in town, offering great Christmas specials.