HAWLEY -- Across our area, communities are celebrating the Christmas season with holiday festivals large and small.
Newswatch 16's Suzanne Goldklang visited Wayne County to see what makes Hawley's Winterfest so special.
Plenty of communities have holiday celebrations with the goal of bringing day-trippers into local stores, but at the Hawley Winerfest members of the community strive to make visitors feel like family.
Cathy Faubel is one of the people who open their doors to strangers. Her Victorian home on Church Street home is one of 5 stops on this years Winterfest House Tour.
She says, "We're very happy to open our home up and meet people. We're very community oriented."
The gracious welcome continues across the street at the First Presbyterian Church's Victorian Luncheon. For dessert, the "cookie walk" features 5000 homemade treats waiting to be gobbled up by visitors Not only are there traditional Christmas cookies, but more exotic varieties such as Welsh cookies and springerle
Back in the center of town, outside the public library there is an ice carving demonstration. Inside there is a soup sale with more than half a dozen steaming flavors, perfect on a damp day.
Tom Kennedy lived in Hawley for decades before moving to nearby Tafton. He says, "We are a very welcoming community here. We love to have people come and share in the beauty of the town."