For the last three years, Skaneateles Sings has been held on the first Friday evening of December, a week after Dickens Christmas opened. This year the community carol night moves to the gazebo on Friday, November 27, which is also opening day. The parade, the carriage rides and the carol night that the Girl Scouts have led in recent years will all happen on the same day after Thanksgiving.
The Village Board of Trustees approved the change at its June 25 meeting. Its effect on the 2026 season is simple to describe. The old calendar gave Dickens two kickoffs, a daytime opening and an evening sing a week later. The new calendar folds them into one Friday.
Three Years on the First Friday
Skaneateles Sings has followed the same pattern every year since at least 2023.
- 2023, Friday, December 1. Life in the Finger Lakes described the evening this way. Pastor Justin Hood dedicated the crèche at Skaneateles Library. Candlelit caroling with Dickens characters followed, then the tree lighting and remarks at the gazebo, then a Father Christmas reception at United Methodist Church while village stores held open houses. Skaneateles Bakery sponsored it, and the Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the Girl Scouts and the Garden Club organized it.
- 2024, Friday, December 6. The Dickens cast schedule listed Skaneateles Sings from 6 to 8 p.m.
- 2025, Friday, December 5. The WAER community calendar listing put the event at the gazebo from 6 to 7 p.m. Dickens characters mingled with the crowd, Father Christmas posed for photos, the Girl Scouts led carols and the tree lighting came next. After that came a Father Christmas reading and a magic show by the Prestidigitating Packwoods at United Methodist Church, plus open houses in village stores.
In each of those years, Sings was a Friday evening event outside the festival's own noon-to-4 p.m. hours. It brought people back downtown after dark, a week after opening day.
The Chamber's first 2026 plan kept that pattern. In the event application it filed with the Village in January, the Chamber listed "Skaneateles Sings" for Friday, December 4, organized by the Girl Scouts and followed by a Father Christmas reading with refreshments at United Methodist Church.
What the Village Board Approved in June
By June the plan had changed. According to the June 25, 2026 Board of Trustees minutes, Chamber Executive Director Lindsey Babbles asked to hold Skaneateles Sings "earlier and at the gazebo." Mayor Sennett explained that each year the Chamber brings the Village a full plan for its events, including the Boat Show, Dickens and Curbstone, and that the Village reviews it with the executive director. The minutes record that Trustee Zapata "thinks it's a good change."
Trustee Richards moved Resolution #2026-168 and Trustee Evans seconded it. It passed 5-0:
"to approve Chamber Executive Director Lindsey Babbles' request to hold 'Skaneateles Sings' - part of the Dickens event - at the gazebo on November 27, 2026."
The approval replaces the December 4 date in the January application. The Chamber's 2026 list of festival days doesn't include December 4 at all. It runs 11/27, 11/28, 11/29, 12/5, 12/6, 12/12, 12/13, 12/19, 12/20 and 12/24, with hours from noon to 4 p.m.
What November 27 Now Holds
Opening day already had the most going on before this change. The Chamber's application sets out the kickoff plans, and Skaneateles Sings now joins them.
| What | Where | When |
|---|---|---|
| "World's Smallest Parade" with Phil Bowen of Rt. 80 Stables, the Fire Department, the Dickens vehicle and possibly a band | Vehicles meet at Village Hall; the parade begins on Fennell Street, turns right on Jordan Street and ends at the Hannum House on Genesee Street | Noon |
| Horse and carriage rides with Phil and Wendy Bowen of Rt. 80 Stables | Sherwood, Hannum, Kelley, Fennell, Jordan, Genesee and back to Sherwood | Noon to 4 p.m. on opening day and every Dickens Sunday |
| Caroling at the gazebo | Clift Park gazebo | 2 p.m. on every Dickens day |
| Skaneateles Sings | Gazebo | November 27, time not yet published |
The gazebo is the busiest spot on the list. The 2 p.m. carols are already planned there on every festival day, and Sings now adds a second gathering at the same place on opening day. In the application, Chamber staff and volunteers decorate the gazebo with garland and holiday decor during the week of November 17. The Village's Christmas lights go up between November 10 and 20.
Before any of that, the Dickens banner goes up in its usual spot between November 8 and 10. The application notes that the Chamber has permission from the City of Syracuse for it.
Parking on a fuller opening day
With more of the season's big moments on a single Friday, parking matters more that day. The Chamber's 2026 application has parking signs up from November 25 to December 24 along Jordan, East Elizabeth and Fennell streets, pointing drivers to the Austin Park Pavilion lot and the lower lot at the high school. More signs go in front of Kinney, CVS and Tops to direct visitors to public parking. The Chamber also says it will run a shuttle and put out sandwich boards and yard signs, placed with input from the Village Police.
The Chamber's Dickens page currently lists a free shuttle from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on opening day and all four weekends, running between the lots and the village and stopping on Fennell Street in front of Hidden Fish. That passage sits next to the Fezziwig's Ball details and a 2025 calendar and brochure, so it may carry over from last season.
What Hasn't Been Announced
The Chamber page said more 2026 details would come October 1. As of mid-October the page still mixes the new dates with a calendar and brochure labeled 2025. Several things that matter to anyone planning around November 27 are still unconfirmed:
- The start time for Skaneateles Sings. The June resolution gives a date and a place but no hour.
- Whether the tree lighting moves too. In 2023 and 2025 the lighting was part of the Sings evening, but the June minutes don't mention it.
- The Fezziwig's Ball date. The December 21 date and the First Presbyterian Church details on the Chamber page come from last season's copy.
- Whether the posted shuttle hours and Fennell Street stop are confirmed for 2026.
The Chamber's information line for Dickens is 315-685-0552.
Before Any of That, Auditions on Wednesday
The cast that fills opening day hasn't been finalized yet. Syracuse.com reported on October 8 that auditions run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 14, at First Presbyterian Church, 97 E. Genesee St.
According to that report, the cast has more than 60 people, and about 20 percent are under 17. Open roles include pickpockets, apple sellers, match girls and finishing school girls. "We feel it's important to keep the program multi-generational," producing director Jim Greene told Syracuse.com.
Syracuse.com also reported that auditions are informal. People are asked to share a favorite holiday memory and sing a few bars of a carol or any song they're comfortable with. "You don't need to be a trained vocalist — we just need to gauge your vocal range," Greene said. Cast members then spend the three weekends before opening day working on music with music director Patrick Glaub and building their characters with artistic director Maria DeMitchell.
Those three rehearsal weekends end right before November 27. With Sings now on opening day, this year's new cast will make its first public appearance on the same day as the community carol night.
The Kettles Run on Opening Day Too
The Salvation Army bell ringers are one more piece of opening day. The Chamber's page says ringing happens from noon to 4 p.m. on Dickens Saturdays and Sundays and on the Friday after Thanksgiving. It asks for volunteers to staff two kettles in one-hour shifts, ideally two people per kettle.
The Chamber's application to the Village reports that the kettle drive raised $4,326 in 2025 and that bell ringers have given more than $74,000 to the Salvation Army since 2001. More than 130 local businesses sponsored and supported Dickens in 2025.
Once Sings moves to November 27, the kettles, the parade, the carriage rides, the 2 p.m. carols and the community sing will all take place within a few blocks of each other on the same Friday after Thanksgiving.
If you're thinking about the holiday weeks from a homeowner's side, such as how a Dickens weekend affects traffic past your street or whether to list before or after the season, Katie keeps track of the village calendar as closely as she tracks the market. Reach out to Catherine Armijo to request a personalized consultation before November 27.
