The tallest Christmas tree on Long Island, a giant Santa throne, and drinking. These are just a few of the changes to East Hampton Village’s Santa Fest celebration for 2025. The tradition, suffused in nostalgia and now in its fourth year, will be held on Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
First, tomorrow from 4 to 7 p.m., the older set can enjoy a Sip and Shop kickoff, in which many stores will offer beverages, and there will be Christmas carolers in Dickens-era costumes to gin up a festive feeling throughout the village.
Some bits of the festival are already on display. Keen observers may have found the Elf on the Shelf, which is hiding in a different business’s window each day. And Q.R. codes on shop doors allow residents to vote for a People’s Choice Award for “best window dressing.”
Also new this year is a focus on local nonprofits. The East Hampton and Springs food pantries will be present and accepting both food and monetary donations. Hamptons Community Outreach, Fighting Chance, Guild Hall, Project Most, and others will be at Herrick Park as Santa’s helicopter lands at 11 a.m. on Saturday, weather permitting.
“We felt like we have 2,000 people coming to Herrick Park to see Santa arrive. It’s a great time to have these groups present, and for people to see that they’re here,” said Mary Waserstein, who co-founded Santa Fest with Marcos Baladron, the village administrator, and Mayor Jerry Larsen.
The “chop chop” of Santa’s helicopter will replace sleigh bells and blend with a set by D.J. Variale and tunes from the East Hampton Middle School band. Dancers, stilt walkers, and Santa’s elves jazzed on free Dreesen’s doughnuts and cocoa will help turn the football field at Herrick Park into a gridiron of glee.
As in years past, much is free at Santa Fest, removing the village’s omnipresent financial barrier. The East Hampton Village Foundation, other private donors, and in-kind donations from businesses here help make the fantasy a reality.
At noon, the parade’s grand marshal, Jen Tarbet, will lead marchers and floats down Main Street. “It was kind of like picking a pope,” Mr. Baladron said of the secretive process that led to her ascent.
Ms. Tarbet has called East Hampton home since age 19, raised two sons, and now has three grandchildren. For 25 years, she taught at the John M. Marshall Elementary School, and has served as an emergency medical technician with the East Hampton Village Ambulance Association. During the late 1990s, she was a beach manager, and more recently she did a three-year stint as president of the Ladies Village Improvement Society.
Hugh King, the village historian, will announce the floats as they pass the intersection of Newtown Lane and Hugh King Alley. The mayor’s float will host judges from John Marshall’s fifth-grade leadership council.
Immediately after the parade, from 1 to 4 p.m., at a free Candyland gathering, children can make their own pizza at Sam’s. The Beach Bakery is sharing the restaurant’s space for the day, and a baker will help children decorate cookies.
As with the selection of the grand marshal, there are other aspects of Santa Fest that are shrouded in mystery. For example, who is Tinsel Tallwood? Ms. Tallwood donated the new Santa Throne at Millstone Park, where Santa will pose for pictures between 1 and 4 p.m.
“The only word for the throne is ‘magnificent,’ “ said Mr. Baladron, reportedly a big fan of the Hallmark Channel. “Last year Ms. Tallwood donated the free doughnuts and all the decor of Santa’s workshop. She’s been giving gifts for the past three years, and I only just met her.” He refused, however, to divulge her identity.
At 2 p.m., “Elf,” with Will Ferrell, will be screened at the East Hampton Middle School. BonBon, a Swedish candy shop that opened in Sag Harbor over the summer, will hand out 300 free bags of its popular confections.
Through it all, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., a holiday market at Village Hall will feature the work of local artisans, and raffle tickets will be sold there. The L.V.I.S. will sell gift baskets and offer free gift wrapping for all purchases made within the village.
Also new this year is a little something for adults. From noon to 5 p.m., Smokey Buns will sponsor the North Pole Ice Bar, making cocktails with a Christmas theme. “It’s going to be a six-foot ice bar carved with reindeer heads. We’ll have a snow machine. It’s going to be a little slice of the North Pole,” Ms. Waserstein said.
“I’m looking forward to another great event in the heart of East Hampton, the village,” Mayor Larsen said. “It always brings thousands of residents and families together.”
It all ends at 5 p.m., when the Christmas tree is lit and Mayor Larsen announces the raffle winner and results of the window-decorating contest.
While Santa Fest ends, it also marks the beginning of the Christmas season. “It’s a holiday love letter to our community,” Ms. Waserstein said.
