'Tis the season in Red Bank

RED BANK - Old-fashioned horseand carriage rides, pictures with Santa, and holiday music, along with beautiful decorations, give historic Red Bank a nostalgic ambiance at the holidays.

The traditional opening of the holiday season in Red Bank is a concert by Holiday Express, the all-volunteer band with the big heart.

This Friday, the troupe will perform favorite holiday hits for the 14th year during the Holiday Express Concert and Town Lighting.

The open-air concert will take place on Broad Street, at Canal Street, beginning at 7 p.m. Broad Street from Harding Road to Monmouth Street will be closed to vehicle traffic from 4 to 11 p.m., and the Red Bank Fire Department will provide hot chocolate with refreshments for concertgoers.

Each year, Holiday Express puts everyone in the holiday spirit as the troupe of local musicians epitomizes the "reason for the season" by giving back to those who need joy, compassion and comfort during the holidays.

Before the concert gets under way, Mr. and Mrs. Claus will accompany children on a train ride from Little Silver to Red Bank.

For the sixth year, the free Santa Express Train will depart from the Little Silver train station and arrive at the Red Bank train station with a parade down Monmouth Street in time for the Holiday Express concert.

Starting at 4 p.m., the Little Silver Train Station will host Santa and Mrs. Claus, who will be available for pictures with all the good boys and girls. Hot cocoa and special holiday goodies will also be given out to the children.

The train will leave Little Silver at 6:15 p.m. for destination Red Bank. Santa and Mrs. Claus will be the grand marshals of the parade and will make an appearance later in the evening at the concert.

To make the season memorable, Red Bank RiverCenter, a downtown alliance, has programmed holiday music throughout the downtown on Saturday afternoons beginning in late November and continuing through December.

Holiday Harmonies, a holiday music series featuring local performers, will be a downtown feature every Saturday through Dec. 22, with bell ringers, choirs, brass bands and carolers stationed on sidewalks in downtown Red Bank to make the holiday shopping experience extra special.

Performers will be located at the Red Bank Christmas tree at the Victorian Courtyard, 30 Monmouth St., as well as on Broad Street and White Street, or strolling in downtown Red Bank between the hours of noon and 3 p.m.

Every Saturday and Sunday, from Thanksgiving to Christmas, classic horseand carriage rides will be offered in downtown Red Bank. Shoppers can hop on a classic nine-passenger carriage that will give free rides touring the historic downtown.

The free horse-and-carriage rides will begin and end in front of 26 Broad St. (Murphy Style Grill) and will run 1-5 p.m. every weekend Dec. 1-23.

The route runs through the downtown area and the ride lasts 10-15 minutes.

On Sunday, 1-4 p.m., the windows of participating stores will come alive with a bit of holiday magic provided by the models of Barbizon School of Modeling of Red Bank. Models will be transformed into mannequins displaying the latest winter fashion trends and must-have accessories. Barbizon models will pose in downtown Red Bank shop windows, creating live holiday window displays.

For more information, contact River- Center at (732) 842-4244.