On Saturday, November 21, the vendors in downtown Katonah's Lot 2 will pack up for the last time this year. The John Jay Homestead Farm Market spent its 16th season in the village at 190 Katonah Ave. because the Homestead is under restoration. The season ran every Saturday from May 2, rain or shine, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Members have had first pick from 9 to 9:30.
The market was a place you could just show up to. What comes after it in Katonah mostly isn't. From November 21 into the first week of December, the village's calendar moves into the Rosen House at Caramoor, the studios at the Katonah Museum of Art on Jay Street and a shop on Katonah Avenue that just moved in. Nearly all of it needs a ticket, a registration or a time slot. The busiest days fall between Wednesday, December 2, and Sunday, December 6. If you live here, the holidays start the week after Thanksgiving, but the planning happens now.
November 21 Is Two Events, Not One
The market's last day works best as half of an afternoon. The market closes at 2 p.m. At 3 p.m., the Katonah Museum of Art starts the first session of its KMA Studio Series: Layered Inspirations, a hands-on adult workshop led by KMAA artist Monique Ford. The November 21 session covers Gelli plate printmaking and runs until 5 p.m.
The series takes its ideas from the museum's two fall exhibitions, which run through January 24, 2027. Intermittent Islands: Four Caribbean Women Artists brings together work by Belkis Ayón, Yanira Collado, Marielle Plaisir and Lisa C Soto. Sonja John: Balikbayan is in the Pollack Family Learning Center. Ayón's collagraphs are built from layered collage plates, and Collado layers fabric, wood and Caribbean soap into reliefs. A printmaking afternoon in those galleries follows directly from what's on the walls.
The museum's other November dates come before the market's last Saturday:
- Sunday, November 15, noon to 3 p.m.: Family Day: Caribbean Connections, with an artmaking workshop led by Sonja John, a performance and mixed-media stations. An early Inclusive Hour for neurodiverse audiences runs from 11 a.m. to noon for families who want a sensory-friendly setting.
- Friday, November 20, 1 to 3 p.m.: Senior Social Afternoon, with a conversational tour of the exhibitions and sketching demonstrations by the NYC Urban Sketchers.
A Lecture on November 19 Sets Up a Concert on December 6
Caramoor's first holiday event is a class. On Thursday, November 19, at 6 p.m., the Rosen House Music Room hosts Sacred Songs, Folk Roots: The Making of the Christmas Carol, part of the Juilliard Extension program. Patrick Kreeger, Juilliard Extension's chair of music theory and analysis, teaches it, and tickets are $85.
The class covers how carols began as medieval European folk dances and later moved into sacred tradition. It traces where "Veni Emmanuel," "O Tannenbaum" and "Stille Nacht" came from. Caramoor bills it as a primer for Christmas with Cantus on Sunday, December 6, 2026. Pieces on the lecture's repertoire list are also on the concert program, including Whitacre's Lux Aurumque, Christopher H. Harris's arrangement of "Silent Night" and Jo Goldsmith-Eteson's arrangement of "Auld Lang Syne."
So the most connected way through the season is to go to the November 19 lecture and then the December 6 concert. That sends you to the Caramoor booking pages before Thanksgiving, not after.
December 3 Has Two Workshops at the Same Time
The early-December cluster has one real scheduling conflict. On Thursday, December 3, the Katonah Museum of Art holds Craft & Connect: Adult Art Workshops from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. That night's session, "Layered Memories," is led by Sonja John, whose Balikbayan is on view in the museum. The same evening at 6:30 p.m., Caramoor holds Rosen House Studio Nights: Winter Wreath-Making.
The two overlap, so you can do one. If you'd like to make something with the artist whose exhibition you can then visit through January, choose KMA. If you'd like a wreath for the front door, choose Caramoor. Either way, it's an evening to book ahead.
The First Week of December, Day by Day
Here is how the week after Thanksgiving fills up:
| Date | Event | Where | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed., Dec. 2 | Sleigh the Season | The Shepherd + Co., 151 Katonah Ave. | Early holiday shopping with extended hours, the store's first in Katonah |
| Thu., Dec. 3, 5:30–7:30 p.m. | Craft & Connect: "Layered Memories" with Sonja John | Katonah Museum of Art, 134 Jay St. | Adult workshop |
| Thu., Dec. 3, 6:30 p.m. | Winter Wreath-Making | Caramoor, Rosen House | Ticketed |
| Fri., Dec. 4 | Rosen House Holiday Tours begin | Caramoor | Tours at 12:30 and 1 p.m. |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | Rosen House Holiday Tours | Caramoor | Added 11:30 a.m. slot this day |
| Sun., Dec. 6 | Christmas with Cantus | Caramoor | The concert the Nov. 19 lecture prepares you for |
The rest of December thins out. Caramoor's Holiday Tea Musicales run December 9 to 20. The next KMA Studio Series session, Mixed-media Portraits, is Saturday, December 12, from 3 to 5 p.m.
Rosen House Tours Run on a Short List of Time Slots
The Rosen House Holiday Tours are Caramoor's main holiday event. They also have the least room on the schedule. The house is decorated from the Rosen family archive, with returning classic decorations and new themed trees. Tours last about 45 minutes, and afterward the Summer Dining Room hosts a holiday market of Caramoor and local artisan goods. Tickets start at $25. Members and children get in free, and everyone has to register in advance.
The tour times are the main limit. Across the run from December 4 to 20, almost every tour day has just two departures, at 12:30 and 1 p.m. Saturday, December 5, is the one day with a third, at 11:30 a.m. The calendar also has gaps:
- Dec. 4–6: Friday through Sunday, opening weekend
- Dec. 9–13: Wednesday through Sunday
- Dec. 15–20: Tuesday through Sunday
There are no tours on December 7, 8 or 14. With a few dozen departures in total, plan the date you want with houseguests or extended family before you commit to the date they arrive. Times are listed on the Rosen House Holiday Tours page.
A Relocated Katonah Avenue Shop Starts the Week
The first event of the week happens in a store that wasn't on Katonah Avenue in the summer. The Shepherd + Co., a modern general store that opened in Bedford Hills in March 2024, relocated to 151 Katonah Ave., about five minutes on foot from the Metro-North station. More than 250 guests came to its Katonah grand opening on October 10, Westchester Magazine reported.
The magazine reported that the move came from a need for more space. Customers had asked for more products and services, and the new store adds permanent jewelry in partnership with Auburn Jewelry plus a custom embroidery station. The embroidery is what makes this matter for the holiday calendar. According to the same Westchester Magazine piece, stockings, scarves, mittens and toiletry bags can be personalized with a name or date, and most pieces are ready in about a week. A stocking ordered on Small Business Saturday, November 28, would be ready around the time the Rosen House tours open.
The store is organized into Jewelry, Apothecary, Paperie, Pantry, Children and Pets departments. Gifts range from candles and stationery under $25 to Italian wool blankets and heirloom pieces at the top. Owner Kristin Hemick told Westchester Magazine that the store will mark Small Business Saturday and then host its annual Sleigh the Season event, an early shopping evening with extended hours. "It returns on Wednesday, December 2, our first in our new home," she said.
What Stays Open After the Rush
The Katonah Museum of Art outlasts the holiday week. Intermittent Islands and Balikbayan stay on view until January 24, 2027. The museum's winter programs continue the Studio Series on January 16 with Experiments with Weaving and hold a Collagraph Printmaking workshop on January 14 with Master Printer Chris Shore of the Center for Contemporary Printmaking. On January 9, Legacy Women performs Afro-Caribbean roots music, an event co-organized with ArtsWestchester. If December feels too crowded, the galleries on Jay Street will still be open in January.
For the farm market, the Homestead's Farm Market page offers an e-news mailing list that names which vendors will be at each week's market.
At The Will Stuart Team, we keep track of how Katonah's calendar moves through the year, from Saturdays in Lot 2 to December afternoons at the Rosen House, because the people we work with are part of it. If you're thinking about a home in or near the village, or would like to talk about what your current property means for your plans, schedule a personalized consultation with us.
