Mistletoe Magic, a longstanding tradition that transforms Purchase Street into a winter wonderland, may be canceled unless event organizers can come up with nearly $25,000 to fund it in a matter of days.
One of the city’s showcase events, the holiday festivities are scheduled for Nov. 30, but will be called off unless more businesses sign on to support it by Nov. 8, according to Brian Jackson, president of the Rye Chamber of Commerce.
Facing a 90 percent drop in contributions from downtown merchants, the chamber has only brought in 10 percent of the annual event’s roughly $27,500 budget, he said.
The event, known in particular for its heated chili cook-off, is sponsored by the Rye Chamber of Commerce and raises funds for the Chamber’s Scholarship Fund.
The dire situation led Jackson to send out an urgent email to chamber members on Tuesday.
“We’re at a crossroads: without additional funding and volunteer help, we may not be able to host Mistletoe Magic this year, and we can’t imagine the holidays in Rye without it,” he wrote about the event which has been running for more than 30 years.
Real estate agencies are doing well and have re-upped their commitments, but numerous requests for support have not brought on many additional retailers or service businesses, according to Jackson.
“Many have told me that their struggles with tariff, healthcare and labor costs have made it impossible for them to contribute,” Jackson said.
Rye is not alone in garnering support for downtown holiday festivities.
On Monday, the organizers of Rhinebeck, New York’s long-running Sinterklaas event announced its cancellation. The program’s failure was due in part to government tariffs that yielded a sharp increase in the price of decorative stars and other products made in China and India that organizers sold to raise funds for the event, according to reports.
Due to the complexity of the event in Rye and the need to give notice to vendors who service it, Jackson said a decision has to be made soon.
Although Jackson wasn’t too optimistic that the necessary funds would be raised, he sent out the email to chamber members because he said it would pain him to have to cancel the Mistletoe Magic tradition. As he put it, “This isn’t just about one day, it’s about keeping our downtown vibrant and giving back to our community that patronizes us all year round.”
