West Hartford’s annual Holiday Stroll will be extended, for adults, with the introduction of the ‘After Stroll’ from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 1 in West Hartford Center and Blue Back Square.

By Joy Taylor

On Thursday, Dec. 1, as West Hartford’s annual Holiday Stroll is winding down, the “After Stroll” will start up at 7:30 p.m. on the town’s Showmobile stage on the corner of LaSalle Road and Farmington Avenue in The Center.

“Since this is our introductory year, we decided to keep the ‘After Stroll’ to just one hour,” commented one of the event organizers, Tom Hickey of West Hartford Magazine and We-Ha.com.

The inaugural event was designed with adults in mind and hopes to attract “20-somethings” to the evening’s festivities in The Center. Highlights include holiday karaoke, a holiday drink competition, wine and cheese pairings, food demonstrations, and fashions – including new Vineyard Vines apparel.

T&T Sound will present the karaoke so rest up those voices, pick out a holiday favorite to request, and prepare to join in by yourself, with a friend, or as a group. Judges will be awarding prizes!

Also included in the After Stroll will be a bartending competition presented by Eat IN Connecticut. This will be much like the WeHa Whiskey Restaurant Battle, where each bartender will have to create a holiday cocktail, using one main liquor that has been chosen and provided by Maximum Beverage. Eat IN Connecticut will round up four or five bartenders to participate, from various restaurants throughout The Center and Blue Back Square. Each bartender will have just two to three minutes to showcase their craft and talents behind the bar. Then, for the rest of the evening you will be able to purchase that drink at the participating restaurants.

Kevin Cowan of Maximum Beverage will present wine and cheese pairings, teaching the audience about which wines pair well with certain cheeses. Visitors will be encouraged to taste and “be the judge” of which they think pairs well!

Cookshop Plus, La Petite France, and others will have food demonstrations. Please watch We-Ha.com for more details as the event draws near.

Barbara Karsky, president of the West Hartford Center Business Association and co-owner of BK&Co said that fashion will also take center stage, with some merchants having the chance to showcase their favorite fashions of the season. There will also be a live reveal of the long-awaited new Vineyard Vines We-Ha apparel that’s now featured in the We-Ha on-line store and at Silver Dahlia on Farmington Avenue.

Please watch for more upcoming details on We-Ha.com.

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