Christmas Themed Happenings Highlight the Region’s Events Calendar This Weekend Before Thanksgiving

It’s that time of year when holiday themed events begin taking center stage in the coastal region and throughout the country. And we have several to tell you about in our latest Oldfather Group “Weekender Blog,” so keep reading below for much more on these special happenings.

We’ll get to those in just a minute. But as we’ve done several times over the last few months, we at the Oldfather Group want to encourage everyone once again to support our local businesses in whatever way possible during these difficult times.

With both Delaware and Maryland increasing coronavirus related restrictions in the last few days, things are again going to get tough for many locally owned restaurants, bars and shops.

Please support them in whatever way you can so we can insure a vibrant restaurant and retail scene once things get back to normal in a few months.

With that being said, we move on to this week’s featured events, many of which have a definite Christmasy theme to them. We begin with a virtual version of one of Delaware’s most popular holiday events…

Festival of Trees at Home (November 21). This popular local event in support of the programs at Delaware Hospice is going virtual this year, as are many things. But there’s still a great selection of beautiful Christmas trees to view, all while supporting a worthwhile First State cause.

This year’s “Festival of Trees at Home” kicks off on Saturday, November 21, beginning at 7 p.m., with a live event. If you miss it, you can catch a rebroadcast at your convenience at www.delawarehospice.org.

Each tree being showcased this year was professionally decorated and then donated to a Delaware nonprofit for the purpose of raising much-needed funds during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Festival of Trees is held annually and is one of the events that helps to usher in the holiday season throughout the state of Delaware. It’s always hosted by Delaware Hospice to raise money in support of the organization’s valuable programs in all three counties of the state.

Once you’ve viewed the trees from all three statewide locations (one in each county), you can vote on your favorite by clicking here.

Learn more about the 2020 Festival of Trees by visiting the event website here.

Holiday Light Displays (Ongoing). Both the Winder Wonderfest at Hudson Fields near Milton and the Winterfest of Lights in Ocean City kick off this weekend for the holiday season.

Each spectacular light event will run evenings through Christmas, with thousands of visitors expected once again in 2020.

We wrote a special blog entry last week on this year’s two biggest holiday light extravaganzas, which you can view by clicking here.

Both events are holiday staples in the coastal region, so be sure to check them out in advance of Christmas 2020.

Welcome Waterfowl Weekend (November 21). If you’d like to see some of the coastal region’s finest winged residents this weekend, make plans to take part in this three-and-a-half hour event kicking off at Delaware Seashore State Park near Bethany Beach.

This birding event is scheduled for Saturday, November 21, from 8 to 11:30 a.m. The meeting place is the south jetty of the Indian River Inlet not far from the Big Chill Beach Club.

Delaware Seashore State Park, including the inlet, is known for some of the peninsula’s best birding opportunities. Targets for viewing this weekend include sea ducks, long-tailed ducks, harlequin ducks, great cormorants and purple sandpipers, among others.

While the majority of the tour will be within the park, the event does wrap up with a trip to Silver Lake in Rehoboth Beach.

The cost for this birding experience is $25 per person. For more information, or to make reservations, click here to be taken to the official site for this weekend event.

Click here for the rest of this weekend’s coastal events calendar