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Annual Skillman Lights Festival to Be Held Saturday

The Skillman lights as seen in 2016 (Photo: Queens Post)

Nov. 30, 2018 By Nathaly Pesantez

Skillman Avenue will light up once more for its third annual holiday lights festival, with a street fair planned through several blocks of the stretch on Saturday.

The festival will be held on Dec. 1 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., with live music, art exhibits, family games, a tree lighting ceremony and more set up between 51st and 45th Streets.

A DJ will play music through the entirety of the event, with holiday-themed performances from the Titan Theater Company and other carolers scheduled.

At 46th Street, a face painting booth and an art exhibit will be set up at beginning at 4:30 p.m. Works will be exhibited by artists from the local Sunnyside Artists group until 8 p.m., while children and families can partake in the “clown dangling” face painting until 6:30 p.m.

Elsewhere along the avenue, a round of Family Feud games will be held, sponsored by T-Mobile. The hour-long competition kicks off at 5 p.m.

At 6 p.m., crowds will gather at the Sunnyside Reformed Church, located at 48-02 Skillman Ave., for the tree lighting ceremony.

The lights festival will wrap up with a visit from Santa, who is scheduled to arrive at 7 p.m.

Attendees will also be able to join in on the “holiday bumper” raffle for a chance to win more than 30 prizes, and are encouraged to bring a gift for the Toys For Tots and a coat to the Hour Children Coat Drive, which will be collected at the festival.

The annual festival is organized by the Skillman Project, a group of business owners along the avenue, and the Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce. This year’s sponsors include Major World, Fresh n Save and the Sunnyside Post.

The event is part of the Department of Transportation’s “Weekend Walks” program, where community-based organizations can apply to close commercial streets for events and programming that highlights local businesses.

For more information, visit The Skillman Project on Facebook.

Elsewhere in the neighborhood, Woodside on the Move’s annual tree lighting event originally planned for Dec. 1 has been cancelled due to expected rain.

The non-profit, however, has organized a “Free Photos with Santa” event for Dec. 8 at the Woodside Community School, located at 39-7 57th St. The event will begin at midday, and includes a limited supply of gifts for children between ages 5 to 8. For tickets, visit www.woodsideonthemove.org or call 718-476-8449.