SPECIAL EVENTS | Holiday Events 

The holiday spirit infects the city of Rochester this week as several events help to kick off the festive season. The Park Avenue Merchants Association will be putting on its annual Park Ave Holiday Open House, which will take place Thursday, December 5, 5-9 p.m. More than 50 Park Avenue businesses open their doors to passersby, offering candy, food, and all sorts of sweet treats. There will also be caroling and holiday music, wagon rides, ice sculpting, as well as an opening ceremony menorah- and tree-lighting on the Park Avenue green at Barrington Street. For more information visit park-avenue.org/park-avenue-holiday-open-house.

Saturday, December 7, sees the debut of a new holiday event, this one geared entirely toward adults. Breakfast with Krampus is devoted to the demonic European anti-Santa, Krampus. Stop by MuCCC (142 Atlantic Ave.) between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. with a new, unwrapped gift to donate to charity. Krampus will greet you on stage. If he likes your gift, you'll get a free breakfast treat. If he thinks it's crap, he's going to publicly harass you — and maybe drag you to hell. You can also shop an alternative arts & crafts sale, a Germanic bake sale, make crafts, and buy Krampus merchandise. Admission is free. For more information visit breakfastwithkrampus.com. (Note: Breakfast with Krampus is run by several City Newspaper staffers, but is not a City event.)

The South Wedge will also be celebrating the holidays Saturday, December 7, with its annual "It's a Wonderful Life in South Wedge." The event will start at 11 a.m. and feature numerous deals at a wide variety of South Wedge shops, bars, restaurants, and businesses. There will be a tree-lighting ceremony at Star Park at 5 p.m., caroling by Rochester's Oratorio Society 2-4 p.m., as well as $3 pints available at area bars. Holiday wagon rides, visits from Santa, and holiday wreath and tree sales will also be on offer during this event. Visit the BASWA Facebook page for more information.

Also on Saturday, December 7, don't miss the lighting of Rochester's Liberty Pole which will take place 4:30-5:10 p.m. Vocal Point and Prime Time Brass will perform as Mayor Richards lights up the monument (in front of the Sibley Building, Main Street). Following the event at the Pole a holiday parade will travel to Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Park (formerly Manhattan Square Park), where there will be a figure-skating exhibition, a free open skate to live music by Beal's Rock and Roll Review ($3 skate rental), horse-drawn wagon rides, and more activities lasting until 8:30 p.m. For more information visit cityofrochester.gov.