Dec 6, 2021
BATAVIA — After being absent last year due to COVID, Batavia’s Christmas in the City kept Main Street busy on Saturday afternoon.
People walked up and down Main Street, visiting different shops and locations to ride a train, visit Santa, make a stop at Whoville or enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate.
Waiting in line to see Santa with her 5-year-old son, Amoni, Marya Cole of Batavia said he had been looking forward to this all week.
“I’m glad events are inside this year,” she said, holding on to Amoni’s hand as the line slowly inched forward.
While Cole has been coming to Christmas in the City for the past five years, this was the first year for Ruth Cruppner of Bergen.
Hearing about it from a friend, by 3:30 p.m., she had been up and down Main Street and visited Islands Hawaiian Grill for a cup of hot chocolate.
“I’m amazed at the number of people and vendors,” she said, adding she was looking forward to the parade later in the evening as well.
Sue McKay, of Delevan, was also a new face at Christmas in the City. Selling mittens, washcloths and scrubbers in her shop, called “Grandma’s Love Boutique,” she said she heard about Christmas in the City while at an All Babies Cherished event in October. It was her sixth show, and while Friday and early Saturday was slow, it picked up quickly in the afternoon.
“The children’s mittens are a big seller,” she said.
McKay said she’s knitted since she was young, taught by her grandmother and then her in-law grandparents. She would do custom Christmas stockings which she would make each time someone new came into the family. The snowflake design came from her great-grandmother, which she used as a base for her other designs.
