All December long, the spirit of the holidays is alive and well in the Hudson Valley. But according to Travel Market Report, nowhere is this more true than in Rhinebeck. The travel source recently put together a list of the 10 ‘Most Christmassy’ Towns in the U.S., and dubbed the Dutchess County village worthy of a top spot. Landing at number three on the list, Rhinebeck trails behind Frankenmuth, Michigan and Santa Claus, Indiana, respectively. And though we’re totally rooting for Team Rhinebeck, let’s be real — you can’t really out beat a name like that.
So what makes Rhinebeck so special? Could it be that Chelsea Clinton was married there? Perhaps. Or maybe it’s that the village’s most famed candy store, Samuel’s Sweet Shop is co-owned by Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Paul Rudd? Doesn’t hurt. But the answer truly lies in the magic of its over-the-top Christmas festival, Sinterklaas.
The celebration is a local tradition, held annually on the first Saturday in December as an ode to the village’s 17th century Dutch roots. Each year, the Children’s Starlight Parade proceeds down Market Street, featuring many festive characters, with kings and queens carrying royal scepters, drumming musicians on stilts, fire-tossing jugglers, and mischief-causing man-beasts. And while this year’s celebration may have passed, you can catch up on all that went down below, or read more on Sinterklaas’ rich Rhinebeck history here.
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