The angels on the Jobs Lane fence came from Saks Fifth Avenue. The bell hanging over Main Street, the Santa Claus with his reindeer and the nativity scene are part of the same collection. A volunteer group of business owners and residents has kept all of it in repair for decades. The Southampton Christmas Decorations Committee has had the angels refurbished. It also paid for underground wiring along Main Street and Jobs Lane, switched the village lights to LED, and in 2020 bought a new spruce for Agawam Park.
What has changed over the years is the date the lights come on.
The Tree Lighting Used to Wait for December
The committee dates its founding to the mid-1950s and credits Jack and Nancy Rist, Artie Palma, Jack Lillywhite and Bob Keane. In those years the official village tree lighting took place on the first Friday in December, at the Chamber of Commerce. About 25 years ago, Millie Fellingham and the Southampton Chamber of Commerce added a Parade of Lights to honor the volunteer Fire and EMS departments. The committee now calls the whole program its "Thanksgiving Weekend Holiday Kick-Off," with the parade, the tree lighting and fireworks together.
That shift shapes the rest of the season. The biggest public night has moved from early December into a holiday weekend, and the village's cultural venues have booked programs for the same two days. Most of what is free and open to everyone happens over two days in late November. December is mostly smaller indoor evenings that take a reservation, a ticket or a library card. Those deadlines come early.
The Quieter Weeks Before Thanksgiving
The first half of November is light, and the dates are spread out. On Saturday, November 14, Southampton Arts Center at 25 Jobs Lane holds an East End Collected9 artist tour from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m., a gallery walk with participating artists. That evening at 6:00, the Southampton Cultural Center presents pianist Huiping Cai in its Liliane Questel Recital Series. The center lists 25 Pond Lane as its address.
Rogers Memorial Library has several free programs, according to the Dan's Papers Southampton listings:
- Sunday, November 15, 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.: Piazzolla's Argentinian Tango and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue
- Monday, November 16, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.: "The Silent Submarine Service" with Edward Sierra
- Monday, November 23, 5:45 to 7:45 p.m.: a classic-movie screening of The Apartment (1960)
After that, the calendar goes quiet until the day after Thanksgiving.
Friday, November 27: A Free IMAX Seat and a Holiday Shop
The day after Thanksgiving, the village calendar opens at two addresses.
Southampton Playhouse at 43 Hill Street is showing Project Hail Mary on its IMAX screen at 11:00 a.m. The Playhouse calls it a last chance to see the film there. Tickets are free but must be reserved in advance. The building is the old village movie theater. It reopened in February 2025 as a nonprofit cinema after a renovation reported by Southforker, and it now has four screens: one IMAX theater and three with Dolby Atmos. The film runs 2 hours and 36 minutes, so the screening ends in the early afternoon.
At 17 Meeting House Lane, the Southampton History Museum opens its Carriage House Holiday Shop in the Nugent Carriage House from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The shop advertises gift baskets, vintage pieces and seasonal gifts, and it runs again on Saturday during the same hours.
In the evening, Sticks and Stones Comedy Club has an all-star comedy show from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m., and it repeats Saturday night.
Saturday, November 28, by the Clock
Saturday is the busiest day of the season. The committee's posted schedule and the Arts Center calendar put all of these between 10 a.m. and 9:30 p.m., and four of them fall between 4:00 and 6:00:
- 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.: Carriage House Holiday Shop, second day, Nugent Carriage House, 17 Meeting House Lane
- 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.: Lee Krasner: The Long View with a panel and reception at Southampton Arts Center, 25 Jobs Lane
- 4:30 p.m., "at Dusk": Parade of Lights, with decorated vehicles from the volunteer Fire and EMS departments
- 5:30 p.m.: Tree lighting in Agawam Park, with holiday songs by Southampton High School's Voices of Southampton
- After the lighting: Fireworks, then a walk past the decorated shop windows around the village
- 8:00 to 9:30 p.m.: The second night of the Sticks and Stones comedy show
The Krasner program overlaps the parade and the tree lighting completely. The Arts Center's event page describes a 30-minute documentary finished in 1978. Art historian Barbara Rose made it, and Lana Jokel co-produced and edited it. It follows Krasner's development as a painter, her 1977 exhibition, and her place as an independent artist in a mostly male art world. After the screening, Jokel and art historian Helen Harrison take questions, and a reception follows. Registration goes through the Arts Center.
With a half-hour film and a Q&A starting at 4:00, the program fills the time the parade begins. People who want both will be choosing between the reception and the tree.
Sunday, November 29: The Gallery Without the Crowd
The Arts Center opens East End Collected9 from noon to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. This is the ninth edition of the show. It features artists who live and work in Suffolk County, in painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking and ceramics. Paton Miller, who created the series, co-curates it with Christina Mossaides Strassfield, the Arts Center's executive director.
Deborah Acquino is one of the exhibiting artists. She is back in the same building twice in December to teach.
December Runs on Registration
After Thanksgiving weekend, nearly every village holiday program asks for something in advance: a reservation, a ticket or a library card. Here is the December calendar with the conditions each one lists:
| Date | Program | Where | What it asks of you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Dec. 3, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. | Holiday Paint & Sip: Hand-Painted Ornaments with Deborah Acquino | Southampton Arts Center, 25 Jobs Lane | $35 general, $30 members; doors 6:15, class starts 6:30 sharp |
| Mon., Dec. 7, 5:30 p.m. | Holiday Wrapping Social | Rogers Memorial Library, 91 Coopers Farm Road | Registration required, walk-ins welcome; bring unwrapped gifts and a roll of paper |
| Wed., Dec. 9, 8:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. | Holiday Bus Trip: Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall | Departs the public lot behind Southampton Arts Center | $208, nonrefundable; library card required; registration closes Dec. 8 at 5:00 p.m. |
| Thu., Dec. 10, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. | Holiday Paint & Sip, second session | Southampton Arts Center | Same pricing as Dec. 3 |
| Sun., Dec. 13, 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. | Yvonnick Prené, harmonica: "Un Harmonica pour Django" | Rogers Memorial Library | Free |
| Wed., Dec. 16, 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. | Behind the Holiday Hits | Rogers Memorial Library | Registration required |
| Sat., Dec. 19, 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. | Hearthside Cheer | Rogers Mansion, 17 Meeting House Lane | $35 single, $60 pair; RSVP in advance |
Each ornament night includes paints, brushes, two ornaments and drinks. At the library's wrapping social, the staff provides the trimmings and hot cocoa. Behind the Holiday Hits is a multimedia program on the history behind familiar holiday songs, with plenty of trivia.
The Radio City trip has the strictest terms. The $208 covers an orchestra seat, a round-trip Jitney ride, the tip and snacks. The show starts at 2:00 p.m. and runs 90 minutes with no intermission. The library also runs a separate $59 bus to the city that day, called "Do Your Own Thing." It leaves and returns at the same times but includes no show. Make sure you sign up for the right one.
December 19 at the Rogers Mansion
The last event on this calendar is the Southampton History Museum's Hearthside Cheer fills the decorated Rogers Mansion with a 1920s holiday party. Culinary historian Diane Schwindt prepares period-inspired tastings, East End Jazz plays, and there is a holiday "speakeasy." Period dress is encouraged but not required. Like most of December, it asks for an RSVP, at $35 a person or $60 a pair.
The Christmas Decorations Committee pays for the live trees in the business district, the lights, the wreaths and the care of the Jobs Lane angels through an annual appeal. Its president is Andrew Pilaro, and its site lists the email [email protected] for questions. The committee says it keeps the village decorated throughout the holiday season.
Jane Babcook has spent more than 30 years of holiday seasons on the East End. If you are hosting family for the Thanksgiving weekend parade, or if a question about your Southampton home comes up before the New Year, Jane Babcook is glad to help. Contact Jane.