Every year, Destination Oneonta (DO) along with volunteers and the help of sponsoring businesses provides the greater community with a variety of fun, family holiday events to enjoy and this past weekend was action-packed within the city.

Friday night, DO kicked off the holiday celebration weekend with the preview of the Festival of Trees in the production center of Foothills Performing Arts Center. It was the perfect space to show off the many gorgeous trees which were decorated by sponsoring businesses and organizations. Each tree was uniquely decorated and tickets were available for purchase to get a chance at winning a tree. Any trees where the winner was not present at the drawings end up being donated to a local family in need.

On Saturday, the Gingerbread Jubilee at Foothills in the atrium was very well attended. Families enjoyed various holiday-related activities and viewed the amazing creations that individuals, families, and businesses came up with, given the theme of "Deck the Palms". I loved the tropical theme and all the creativity that came from that for all to see.

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Also on Saturday, one of my favorite Oneonta parades, the Holiday Parade. This is how Santa arrives in Oneonta and he certainly arrived in style in a beautiful white carriage, pulled by a pair of decked out, regal draft horses. Wait until you see for yourself, all the great floats and groups that joined in the holiday parade this year. If you missed the parade, you can get the highlights below, and even if you were there, you can enjoy it all over again with our photo galleries below.

Don't miss the Oneonta Tree Lighting event coming up Thursday, December 9 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm on Oneonta's Main St. The tree is located in Muller Plaza. The ceremony which begins at 6:00 pm will be live-streamed on the Destination Oneonta Facebook page but if you come down, you can enjoy horse-drawn wagon rides, Santa Claus, music and more.

2021 Destination Oneonta Holiday Parade Highlights

The 2021 Destination Oneonta Holiday Parade was enjoyed by many on Saturday, December 4th in Oneonta, NY. Here are photos of many of the participants in the parade this year.

2021 Oneonta Festival of Trees

The 2021 Festival of Trees, held at Foothills Performing Arts Center on December 3 and 4 in Oneonta, NY was fantastic with many participating groups and businesses that decorated sponsored trees. See all the creativity that was inspired year.

2021 Oneonta Gingerbread Jubilee Contest Entries

The Destination Oneonta 2021 Gingerbread Jubilee was back this year in a big way! The theme for this gingerbread creation contest was "Deck the Palms" for some tropical holiday fun. Here's a collection of the entries for the contest which includes individual children, families, professionals, and individual adults. The Gingerbread Jubilee was held at Foothills Performing Arts Center atrium.

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