Roc Holiday Village Announces Record Attendance of More than 185,000 Visitors at 5th Annual Event
Save the Dates for 6th Annual Roc Holiday Village—December 6 through December 29, 2024
Rochester, NY—Jan. 9, 2024—The fifth annual City of Rochester Roc Holiday Village presented by Five Star Bank wrapped up 17 days of festivities on December 23, 2023, and presented an additional six days of free ice skating and skate rentals sponsored by Wegmans December 24 through 31, with a record attendance of more than 185,000 visitors!
The Giving Cup, which hosted a rotation of 17 different local nonprofit charitable organizations that served up delicious hot cocoa, raised more than $17,800 for their charities. Camp Good Days and Special Times raised more than $3,600 in Santa's Workshop through toy instrument sales. The Festival's bottle-recycling program led by Sustainability for Scholarships raised more than $190 by collecting over 3,000 bottles and cans.
The sixth annual event will take place from December 6 through December 29, 2024. Specific dates and hours will be announced at a later time.
"This year, our fifth annual event has been nothing short of magical, and we are humbled by the overwhelming response," said Jenna Knauf, Sean McCarthy, and Kelli Marsh, co-owners of Roc Holiday Village.
"We aim to create a memorable experience for everyone to come together and celebrate the holidays, and we are thrilled to have achieved that goal by welcoming tens of thousands of people to downtown Rochester this year. Thank you for allowing us to create holiday memories with your families and friends. We would like to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude to the generous and loyal support extended by our sponsors and the entire Rochester community."
2023 Roc Holiday Village Highlights Included:
An expanded selection of free arcade games to enjoy inside the Rochester Area Community Foundation & Triple-O Lodge.
Rohrbach Brewing Company debuted a new beer in partnership with Roc Holiday Village called “Village Lager” – A crisp classic German lager that sparkles like the magic of Roc Holiday Village. With a bready malt backbone and subtle hops, Village Lager is an ode to the nostalgia of the holiday season. Village Lager sold out in the second week.
10 Cozy Winter Igloos for private groups of six to eight people sold out in 2 hours.
Four Story Time With Santa and Story Time With Anna & Elsa tickets events sold out.
An additional 30-person Igloo Inn located adjacent to the ice rinkavailable for private parties of up to 30 people featured a private deck with Adirondack chairs, a fire pit and an optional s’mores package add-on. All of the Igloo Inns sold out.
The Giving Cup hosted a rotation of local nonprofit charitable organizations that served up delicious hot cocoa to raise money for their charities for a total amount of more than $17,800!
Two free Silent Discos on the ice rink
Bar Trivia was hosted by Rochester Pub Trivia in The Lodge.
New Photo Experience design sponsored by Vitalize Medical
Two Mini Maker Markets in the Simcona Gingerbread House.
Free ice skating and free skate rentals presented by Wegmans throughout the 17 days of Roc Holiday Village's operating hours, plus 5 days between Christmas and New Year's.
Santa’s Workshop featured free visits and photos with Santa, free cookies courtesy of Wegmans, Santa Text Express and letters to Santa.476 children received a reply to their letters to Santa.
Camp Good Days and Special Times raised more than $3,600 in Santa's Workshop through toy instrument sales.
Crafts for kids in the Simcona Gingerbread House presented by Brooklyn Robot Foundry, Boy Scouts of America Seneca Waterways Council, City of Rochester, Girl Scouts of Western New York, Home Depot, Rochester Pipeline, Memorial Art Gallery, Jewish Federation of Greater Rochester, Kwanzaa Coalition, Puerto Rican Festival and First Bible Baptist Church.
Holiday celebrations in the Simcona Gingerbread House included Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Three Kings' Day, Christmas
Ryan Callahan Foundation Skill Competition for kids in groups for ages 10 and under and 11 to 16
Curling Demonstration and Instruction presented by Rochester Curling Club
Thomas Creek Figure Skating Club performance and learn to skate
Live music on the Buckingham Properties Stage inside the Rochester Area Community Foundation & Triple-O Lodge on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and select Sundays.
Arcade games inside the Rochester Area Community Foundation & Triple-O Lodge
Exploring the Village in three ways – Scavenger Hunt, Adventure Map, and Photo Quest. Exploring the Village was free and sponsored by Visit Rochester.
On closing night Prime Time Brass performed around the Village and with Santa before he returned to The North Pole.
The Rochester Area Community Foundation & Triple-O Lodge included cozy lounge seating and communal tables, plus free arcade games, live music and entertainment, a bar with wine, beer, hard cider, hard seltzer, mulled wine, sparkling wine, soft drinks and The Giving Cup hot cocoa bar.
Eating and shopping from 26 retail vendors weekly for a total of 50 different regional businesses over the course of the 17-day event. The outdoor Shopping Village was sponsored by the Democrat and Chronicle.
Outdoor seating sponsored by the YMCA and an outdoor bar where guests met up with friends and warmed up around the fire pits with their beverage of choice.
Frosty’s Food Court – A rotation of food trucks located outside on Court St. with outdoor picnic table seating.
Special tasting events in the Rochester Area Community Foundation & Triple-O Lodge bar
About Roc Holiday Village
Roc Holiday Village is Rochester, New York’s favorite, magical winter festival! Delighting people of all ages, Roc Holiday Village 2023 celebrated its fifth anniversary this year, and presented 17 days of enchanting festivities from December 1 to December 23 drawing more than 185,000 people of all ages to the heart of downtown Rochester at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Memorial Park. The annual downtown festival features outdoor seating and fire pits, free ice skating and skate rentals, a unique shopping village, indoor and outdoor bars with tasty food and drinks, free visits with Santa, hand-crafted goods, cozy winter igloos, free crafts for kids, holiday celebrations, live music, private events, nightlife and more. Roc Holiday Village is produced by Rochester natives Jenna Manetta Knauf, owner of Bella Events Group; Kelli Marsh, owner of Kelli Marsh photography; and Sean McCarthy, owner of McCarthy Tents & Events. Roc Holiday Village will present its sixth annual season from December 6 to 29, 2024.
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