By Lauren Schiavone
Hometown Weekly Staff
Medfielders embraced the holiday spirit over the weekend by ambling around town to visit local vendors and organizations for the 2022 Holiday Stroll and Sale. The stroll saw neighbors casually exploring town’s prime locations, such as the Medfield Public Library, Zullo Gallery, and United Church of Christ, in search of holiday gifts, activities and more.
The eighth annual Holiday Stroll and Sale, hosted by the Bellforge Arts Center highlights local artists and brings free and accessible activities to town. The evening’s festivities included arts and crafts for sale, food trucks, dance and singing performances, and MEMO’s tree lighting, among other attractions.
At the gazebo outside of the public library, townspeople gathered to watch an ice sculpture carving presentation, where Steve Rose crafted a snowman from a massive glacial block and took time to respond to questions from the crowd he was simultaneously entertaining. The skill requires immaculate focus and planning. “It’s a huge freezer the size of your house,” sculptor Rose told a bunch of inquisitive boys when they asked him how he transported the block. The progression of sculpting a snowman was entertaining and educational, and a great segue into the library itself, where even more unique goods waited.
Over thirty artists participated in the stroll, selling everything from pine crafts to pottery. Handmade paper crafts, pottery, photography, and art prints all had a place in the festivities. A familiar face, the MPL’s own Bri Ozanne, sold upcycled embroidered hats and patchwork sketchbooks. Lovely wreaths, cards, wooden earrings, and alpaca socks were sold from the Zullo Gallery. The United Church of Christ offered handmade soaps, originally designed wooden cutting boards, and acrylic paintings. The Medfield High Clay Club also sold their creations of adorable ornaments in and effort to raise money for the club.
As the stroll is a full community effort, there were plenty of local organizations to lend their hands to the festivities. The Hinkley Helpers were raising money, encouraging community members to purchase a brick and give the gift of play in hopes of building a new, accessible playground. The Angel Run coordinated a tee-shirt pickup and hot chocolate bar inside Needham Bank. The UCC held a spirited karaoke holiday singalong; friends joined in groups, young soloists got a chance to share their talent, and the high school a cappella group Trills ’n Chills even made an appearance prior to their caroling performance. Other activities around town consisted of photos with Frosty the Snowman, a Jazzagals outdoor a cappella performance, and make-and-take crafts for kids with the First Baptist Church.
As is always highly-anticipated, the MEMO tree lighting ceremony began at 6:30 p.m. Medfield Dance Academy students performed holiday dances onstage, wowing the substantial crowd. Singers performed renditions of classics such as “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” and “Jingle Bells”, and the winners of the “Joy to the World” singing contest belted it out at Baxter Park before the tree was finally lit.
With the town out in full force, the tree lit, and seasonal cheer everywhere, Medfielders knew: the holidays had properly arrived.
