By next December, several Hammondsport landmarks will look different from how they look right now. Christmas in the Park reaches its 50th edition on Saturday, Dec. 12, 2026, at Pulteney Square, 26 Mechanic St. The anniversary comes during an unusual stretch for the village. The old Champlin Beach pier is being replaced. Crews are converting the Glenn H. Curtiss Memorial School on Bauder Avenue into apartments. Pleasant Valley Winery, closed since last year, has a new owner planning to begin work this fall.
So this holiday season does two jobs. It marks fifty years of an event, and it's probably the last December before several of the village's best-known places change.
Fifty Years at Pulteney Square
The Fingerlakes1.com preview of the 2023 celebration called that year's event the 47th annual. If the numbering holds, the first one was around 1977, which fits a 50th in 2026. No source we found gives a confirmed founding date, so treat 1977 as an estimate. The Greater Hammondsport Area Chamber of Commerce lists the event on its events page.
No one has published the 2026 schedule yet. No source we reviewed mentions special programming for the anniversary either. Last year's lineup is the best guide to the format. Here is how the Keuka Sun described the Dec. 13, 2025 schedule:
- 8 to 11 a.m.: Breakfast with Santa at the fire department
- 3:30 p.m.: A Keuka Lake Players performance
- 4 to 7 p.m.: Artisan market at Pulteney Square
- 4:30 p.m.: Santa parade
- 5 p.m.: Tree lighting
- Evening: Wagon rides, music and dancing
The 2023 version looked similar. It ran 4 to 7 p.m. in the square, with a bell choir, the Keuka Lake Players, chorus performances, vendors, wagon rides, and Santa arriving by fire truck. The format has held steady for years. What's around the square is what's changing.
What's Under Construction This Winter
The village and the Town of Urbana received a combined $4.5 million NY Forward award in May 2025, split across six projects. WETM reported the full list at the time. Seventeen months later, some of those projects are visibly underway and others have had no public update. Here is where each one stood as of mid-October 2026, based on published reporting.
| Project | NY Forward amount | Status as of October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Champlin Beach Pier replacement | $1.357 million | Groundbreaking announced August 2026; no completion date reported |
| Curtiss School conversion | $885,000 | Construction underway; completion expected mid-2027 |
| Liberty and Mill Street reconstruction and drainage | $1.606 million | Funded; no construction update found |
| Branding plan, heritage trail and wayfinding signs | $362,000 | Funded; no construction update found |
| Bike-friendly cafe in a former service station | $172,000 | Funded; no construction update found |
| Egress upgrades at 31 Shethar St. for a lower-level restaurant and bar | $118,000 | Funded; no construction update found |
The pier
The NY Forward share covers less than half of the pier's cost. The Dundee Observer / Watkins Review reported a total of $2.8 million: $1.35 million from NY Forward and $1.47 million from the state's Local Waterfront Revitalization Program. The plan removes the old pier and installs a fully ADA-compliant dock system with a gazebo, space for a tour boat, and more docking so boaters can tie up and walk into town.
The same article says the state announced in May that Glenn H. Curtiss Park in Hammondsport was finished. That project drew $1.26 million in waterfront funding as part of the 2015 Keuka Lake Waterfront Redevelopment Master Plan. That makes this the park's first holiday season. The pier next to it will spend the winter as a work site.
The school on Bauder Avenue
The Leader reported in September that work had started on Curtiss Hill. The $9.7 million project turns the former Glenn H. Curtiss Memorial School into 24 market-rate apartments: about seven studios, 14 one-bedrooms and three two-bedrooms. The building opened in 1935 and has been empty for about 15 years. The Hammondsport Central School District listed it for sale in 2011. The developers expect to finish in mid-2027. If that holds, the 50th Christmas in the Park will be the last one with the building still empty.
The Liberty and Mill Street project stands out among the projects still waiting. The award describes it as better pedestrian access between downtown and the waterfront. It's the piece that would connect the square to the new pier. No construction date has been published.
The Winery at the Edge of Town
The biggest change is just outside the village. Pleasant Valley Winery was founded in 1860 and is New York's second-largest winery facility. The July 2026 report says it stopped operating last year, after more than 160 years. According to Finger Lakes Daily News, at its peak more than 100 wineries and grape growers used the facility for pressing, processing, bottling, packaging and storage.
In July, the state announced that Vine Enterprises will buy the site and invest at least $47 million. Empire State Development is contributing up to $12 million in grants. The plans include bringing back processing and beverage manufacturing, reviving legacy brands, restoring the historic Champagne Cellars, and hiring 69 people. The company said it expects to begin work this fall. No reopening date has been announced. So far, only the purchase plan and the fall start are confirmed.
Pleasant Valley's history is a big part of why this matters locally. It won a gold medal for champagne at the 1873 Vienna World's Fair. It made sacramental wine during Prohibition. It holds Federally Bonded Winery No. 1, the first bonded winery in the United States, and it is one of the few wineries outside France allowed to sell its sparkling wine as "champagne."
The Calendar Between Now and Dec. 12
Fall also has some new and recurring places to go between now and the anniversary.
- Every Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: The Fred & Harriett Taylor Memorial Library opens its Book Ends book-sale rooms. The library calendar lists the sale on Halloween, Oct. 31, and describes it as a weekly event.
- Saturday, Nov. 7, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.: The Glenn H. Curtiss Museum Holiday Market Craft Show at 8419 State Route 54. The $5 admission includes museum entry.
- Saturday, Dec. 12: Christmas in the Park's 50th, Pulteney Square.
There's also a new place for dinner on cold nights. Nacion Taco Hammondsport, from the team behind Casa Mezcal Flavors of Mexico, opened on Shethar Street in late May, according to The Leader. The restaurant's site lists 41 Shethar St. Hours are Monday through Friday 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. The menu includes street and signature tacos, quesabirria, fajitas and seafood, with churros, flan and tres leches for dessert. It took a while to arrive. In September 2025, The Leader expected an opening in late September or the first week of October. By November, the same paper was reporting a mid-December target. In January 2026, the Keuka Sun said there was still no firm date. This will be its first holiday season in the village.
The tree lighting and Santa's arrival will probably look much like they have for decades. The surroundings will look different by next December. The pier will have a new dock, the school on Bauder Avenue is due to have tenants, and the winery may be running again if the plans hold.
Projects like the Champlin pier, Curtiss Hill and the Pleasant Valley restart change how a village works, and they can change what a home near them is worth. If you own in or around Hammondsport and want to know how this season's construction might affect your property, the team at Griffith Realty Group has followed Keuka Lake for more than 40 years. Contact Us for a Confidential Consultation.
