The Hallmark-inspired, inaugural Avon Winterfest joins this list of fun outdoor holiday festivities

In the 2021 Hallmark holiday movie “Taking a Shot at Love,” a couple trying to save a Christmas tree farm visits the Avon Winterfest as their romance plays out. This weekend, film fiction comes to life as the Connecticut town of Avon hosts its inaugural three-day holiday fair inspired by that movie, starring Danica McKellar of “The Wonder Years.”

Avon Winterfest will be on the Avon Village Green and village center Dec. 3-5.

“We had the idea to do something like it in 2019 but we couldn’t get it up and running fast enough,” said Dawn Zavalishin, director of Avon Winterfest. “Then in 2020 COVID hit. Then I was sitting at home watching the Hallmark movie that had an Avon Winterfest and it just all clicked.”

Hallmark screenwriter and Avon resident Julie Sherman Wolfe set her movie in Avon, even though it was filmed in Canada.

“I’m always about hyping up Connecticut. That’s my goal in general. You could call me the Connecticut hype man at Hallmark,” Wolfe said. “I’m trying to build this little world.”

The real Winterfest, to be emceed by NBC Connecticut newswoman Kerri-Lee Mayland, will have shopping opportunities, lollipop making, a beer garden, caroling, food and drink vendors.

The Hallmark movie “You, Me & The Christmas Trees,” also set in Avon and written by Sherman, will be screened Dec. 3 from 8 to 10 p.m. in the parking lot of Whole Foods at 50 Climax Road.

Other activities and entertainments at family-friendly event include:

• Dec. 3: Fiddlers The Carroll Sisters at 6 p.m.; ice skating from 6 to 10 p.m.; Santa visits from 6 to 9 p.m.; opening ceremony at 6:30 p.m.; Avon High School Camerate Singers at 6:45 p.m.; a tree lighting at 7:30 p.m.; Sweet Adeline / Farmington Valley Chorus at 7:30 p.m.; the KC Sisters at 8:30 p.m.

• Dec. 4: Santa visits from 4 to 7 p.m.; ice skating from 6 to 10 p.m.; Avon Middle School Arioso Chorus at 5 p.m.; the KC Sisters at 6:30 p.m.; the Carroll Sisters at 8 p.m.

• Dec. 5: Ice skating from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.; a gingerbread contest and raffle at 10 a.m.; Hilby the Skinny German Juggling Boy at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.; and The Substitutes at noon.

Proceeds will support Connecticut Children’s Gastroenterology Department and Connecticut GI, PC, a medical group specializing in digestive and liver disorders. avonwinterfest.org.

Other Winterfests

Other towns in Connecticut are having Winterfests or other holiday-themed community get-togethers. Most activities are free of charge. Here is a list. It is not all-inclusive.

Winterfest Hartford, the annual outdoor series of free ice-skating days in Bushnell Park featuring music, Santa and seasonal activities, runs Friday to Jan. 9. Skating hours are daily from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., except on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, when the rink will be open noon to 4 p.m.; and on New Year’s Eve, when the rink will be open 11 a.m. to midnight to coincide with First Night, downtown Hartford’s annual New Year’s Eve party. Other activities include free skating classes, Santa’s workshops, a game room, the Hartford’s Proud Drill Drum and Dance Corps. Chompers the Yard Goats mascot, and themed music nights. winterfesthartford.org.

The West Hartford Holiday Stroll will be in Blue Back Square on Dec. 2 from 5 to 8 p.m. Horse-drawn carriage rides, visits with Santa, Anna and Elsa and performances by The Greater Hartford Dance Academy, The Ballet Theatre Company and School of Rock. facebook.com/BlueBackSquareWH.

Holidays on Main will be on Main Street in Old Wethersfield on Dec. 2 from 5 to 9 p.m. Activities include a tree lighting, Santa visits, an essay contest, farmer’s market, fire juggler, face painting, wine and beer tent, choral concerts, a fife and drum corps, tours of historic homes, cookie decorating, monster trucks, horse and wagon rides, a silent auction, food and craft vendors and toy collection for the needy. Shops on Main Street will be open for holiday shopping. facebook.com/WethChamber.

The East Hartford Holiday Fest will be Dec. 3 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., Dec. 4 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Dec. 5 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Dec. 6 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Activities include book sales, card and bow making, a scavenger hunt, a tree lighting, pancake breakfasts and spaghetti suppers, swimming with Santa, a jazz concert, a performance of O. Henry’s “The Gift of the Magi,” a decorated 19th-century house, boutiques, poinsettia sales, Santa visits and musical performances. On Dec. 5, homemade or store-bought cookies can be donated to be sent to troops around the world. For a full schedule with times and locations: easthartfordct.gov/.

A Holiday Stroll will be in downtown Wallingford on Dec. 3 from 4 to 9 p.m. Roasted chestnuts, ice carvers, bonfire, DJ, food trucks and a Festival of Trees at the office of Coalition for a Better Wallingford, 136 Center St. facebook.com/WallingfordCenterInc.

A Winterfest will be held at Central Park in Vernon on Dec. 3 starting at 6 p.m. Events include a fire truck parade, tree lighting, snowflake lighting on Fox Hill Tower, the Rockville High School band, carol singing, wreath lighting and a Santa house. facebook.com/TownofVernonCT.

Ellington Winterfest will be Dec. 3 starting at 7 p.m., Dec. 4 from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Dec. 5 from 2 to 4 p.m., on and near the town green. Activities include a play, “Christmas at Pine Tree Corners,” by the Ellington High Opening Knight Players, choral concerts, ornament workshop, farmer’s market, open houses at the library and Nellie McKnight Museum, bonfire, caroling, tree lighting, Santa, a torchlight parade, a café in the Congregational Church and a live nativity at the Latter-Day Saints church. Schedule and locations: facebook.com/townofellington.

Tolland Chamber Singers and the Stafford Madrigals will perform on Dec. 4 at 2:15 p.m. at the Hicks-Stearns Family Museum, 42 Tolland Green. The show will be followed by the tree lighting on the Green. facebook.com/hicksstearns.

Hello Holidays will take place on Dec. 4 from 5 to 7 p.m. at The Promenade Shops at Evergreen Walk in South Windsor. Tree lighting, torch parade, decorated fire trucks, live music, dance performances, Santa visit. facebook.com/shopevergreenwalk/

Night of Lights will be at 1075 Main St. in Newington on Dec. 4 starting at 5 p.m. Activities include sleigh and train rides, fire trucks, live music, cocoa, carol singing, ice sculpting, a racing track, a bonfire with s’mores, a tree lighting and Santa visits. facebook.com/newingtonparksandrecreation.

A Carol Sing and Torchlight Parade, with holiday-lighted vehicles, will be Dec. 4 starting at 6 p.m. on the Windsor Town Green. firsttowndowntown.org.

A Chanukah Village, presented by Friendship Circle, is Dec. 5 from 4 to 5:30 p.m. at Chabad, 2352 Albany Ave. in West Hartford. There will be videos, karate, nail art, tattoos, latkes, LEGOs, dreidels, candle lighting, Chanukah songs. Wear an ugly Chanukah sweater. facebook.com/friendshipcirclect.

The East Windsor Torchlight Parade will be Dec. 18 starting at 5:30 p.m. on Main Street and ending at the Broad Brook Firehouse, where there will be hayrides, tattoos, arts and crafts, refreshments, carol singing, raffle and food collection for the needy. facebook.com/ewparksandrec.

Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com.