Unplug This Weekend: Festival of Trees in Leeds, the Polar Express in Kingston, and Glimmerglass in Cooperstown (November 14–15)

An Unplugged Cabins weekend guide — for everyone who’d rather be outside.

The first snow of the season lands Thursday night into Friday, about three inches in Hunter, and the weekend itself turns dry and cold, with highs in the upper 30s and a northwest wind. That sets the shape of this weekend: indoors, under lights, and close to the cabin. The anchor is Leeds, about 20 minutes from the cabin, where the 31st Festival of Trees opens Saturday morning with 50 or so decorated trees and a $5 ticket, and Gracie’s Luncheonette launches its Sunday chicken dinner the next day, $55 to feed four, pickup from 4 to 8pm. The second anchor is Kingston, about 50 minutes away, where the Polar Express pulls out of Westbrook Lane Station for its first weekend, Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, with rides through December 30.

Last week’s guide is in the journal. Every pick below is filed for our events calendar with this week’s handoff, and every date, hour, and price was checked on November 11, 2026. Organizers can change prices on the day, so confirm before you drive. One planning note: the ski lifts are not turning yet. Projected opening dates listed for this season are November 20 for Belleayre and November 21 for Hunter, with Windham listed for December 4, and none of the three has announced a date on its own site, so this is a trees, trains, and films weekend, not a ski weekend. The DEC pages for Kaaterskill Wild Forest, North-South Lake, Colgate Lake, Elm Ridge, and Hunter–West Kill showed no closure alert on November 11. The Catskill Farmers Market lists its season as over for 2026, so it is not on this weekend’s tables.

Every pick this weekend

Within an hour of the cabin

Event	When	Admission	From Clove Creek
31st Annual Festival of Trees: A Storybook Christmas	Sat, 10am–5pm; Sun, 10am–4pm	$5; kids 12 and under free	~20 min
Gracie’s Sunday Chicken Dinner (launch)	Sun, pickup 4–8pm	$55 prepaid by Fri Nov 13 noon; $60 after, while supplies last	~15 min
DARLIN’	Sat, 7pm; Sun, 2pm	$30 adults / $25 students / $10 student rush at door	~30 min
Left Bank Ciders 3rd Annual Apple Bake-Off	Sat, 5–8pm	Free to enter	~30 min
GCHS Second Annual Fundraising Party	Sun, 1–4pm	Not listed	~35 min
AutoCamp Catskills Fall Feast	Sat, 5–7pm	$150pp, 21+; overnight stay Nov 14 with Fall Feast package required	~40 min
Story Songs: Chris Wells and Jeremy Bass	Sat, 8–10pm	$30 members / $35 not-yet-members	~40 min
The Fab Faux	Sat, doors 7pm, show 8pm	Not listed	~40 min
Loudon Wainwright III w/ Jenna Nicholls	Fri Nov 13, doors 7pm, show 8pm	Not listed	~40 min
Rough Cut Pop Up Brunch Sundays	Sun, 10am–2pm	Not listed	~45 min
THE POLAR EXPRESS Train Ride	Fri Nov 13, 6–8pm (first ride); Sat, 1–8pm	Adults $48+; children $38+; $10 off for Ulster County/Kingston residents	~50 min
Hudson Farmers Market	Sat, 9am–1pm	Free	~55 min
GATHER at Hudson Valley Table	Sat, cocktails 6:30pm, dinner 7:30pm	Not listed	~55 min

One to two hours from the cabin

Event	When	Admission	From Clove Creek
NAMAI grand opening celebration	Fri Nov 13 (evening; time not listed)	Not listed	~1h
Gershwin, Jazz, and the Music of Jewish Émigrés — The Orchestra Now	Sat, 7pm; Sun, 2pm	From $15	~1h05
Judy Collins — Sweet Judy Blue Eyes: Farewell Tour	Fri Nov 13, 7:30pm	$75 / $65 / $55	~1h15
Hudson Valley Horror Fest	Sat + Sun	Not listed	~1h30
Hudson Valley Shakespeare Community Bake-Off	Sat, 7pm; Sun, 2pm	Free; register at hvshakespeare.org/bake-off	~1h40
Hudson Valley Restaurant Week	Through Mon Nov 16	$24.95–$44.95 prix fixe	Region-wide

About three hours from Manhattan

Event	Where	When	Admission
Saratoga Farmers’ Market — Winter Market (indoors)	Wilton Mall Food Court, Saratoga Springs	Sat, 9:30am–1:30pm	Not listed
Cooperstown Farmers’ Market	101 Main St, Cooperstown	Sat, 9am–2pm	Free to browse
Glimmerglass Film Days	Multiple venues, Cooperstown	Sat + Sun screenings	$8 advance / $10 at door; Take Five Pass $35; two free films
Glimmerglass Film Days Bird Walk	Fenimore Art Museum grounds, Cooperstown	Sun, 9–10am	Free
National Baseball Hall of Fame	25 Main St, Cooperstown	Sat + Sun, 9am–5pm	Adults $35 / seniors 65+ $29 / children 7–12 $26 / under 6 free; veterans free in November
2nd Annual Skidmore & Bennington Folk Festival	Zankel Music Center, Saratoga Springs	Sat, workshop 2:30pm; concert 7:30–9pm	Not listed
Professor Louie & The Crowmatix	Caffè Lena, Saratoga Springs	Sat, 8–10pm	Not listed; livestream $5 via Caffè Lena TV
Farah Siraj	Caffè Lena, Saratoga Springs	Sun, 7–9pm	Not listed
Endea Owens & The Cookout	MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA	Sat, 8pm	$36 advance / $46 week-of / $56 preferred / $20 student
Cowboy Junkies	Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, Great Barrington, MA	Sat, 8pm	Not listed
Berkshire Concert Choir: “True Colors”	Zion Lutheran Church, Pittsfield, MA	Sat, 7pm; Sun, 3pm	Not listed
Snow Farm Seconds Sale	Snow Farm, Williamsburg, MA	Fri–Sun, 10am–4pm	$8–$10

About five hours from Manhattan

Event	Where	When	Admission
Punch Brothers	State Theatre of Ithaca, Ithaca	Sat, 8pm	$39.50–$75
Whiskey Tango Sideshow	Hangar Theatre, Ithaca	Sat, 7:30pm	Not listed
Ithaca Farmers Market	Steamboat Landing, Ithaca	Sat + Sun, 10am–2pm	Not listed
Keuka Lake Wine Trail: Handcrafted Holiday	Six member wineries, Keuka Lake	Sat, 10am–5pm	$110pp
Idol Ridge Winery: Sipsgiving Sip & Shop	Idol Ridge Winery, Lodi	Sat + Sun, 10am–5pm	Not listed
Operation Santa Claus Holiday Craft Fair	Newcomb Community Center, Newcomb	Sat, 9am–3pm; Sun, 10am–3pm; lunch 11am–2pm	Not listed
Holiday Sale at the Adirondack Folk School	Adirondack Folk School, Lake Luzerne	Sat, 10am–3pm	Not listed
Saranac Lake Winter Farmers Market	Hotel Saranac lobby, Saranac Lake	Sat, 10am–1pm	Not listed
Genesee Country Village & Museum — last general-admission weekend of the season	1410 Flint Hill Rd, Mumford	Fri–Sun through Sun Nov 15, 10am–3pm	Not listed

Dates, hours and prices from each organizer’s own page, checked November 11, 2026. Prices may be changed by the organizers on the day of the event. Drive times from Clove Creek Cabin via Google Maps, without traffic.

Leeds leads the weekend: trees, then Sunday chicken

The Festival of Trees is the closest anchor to the cabin, and it runs both days. The Fortnightly Club of Catskill’s 31st Annual Festival of Trees, A Storybook Christmas, takes over Anthony’s Banquet Hall at 746 Route 23B in Leeds, with 50 to 55 decorated trees and 40 wreaths on display. Saturday runs 10am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm, with general admission at $5 and kids 12 and under free. The opening-night gala runs Friday from 7 to 10pm at $30, and the auction and raffles close Sunday at 4pm, with item pickup from 4 to 7pm.
Sunday dinner is sorted before you leave the festival. Gracie’s Luncheonette at 969 Main Street in Leeds launches its Sunday dinners on November 15: $55 feeds four, with a whole roast chicken, a choice of two pint sides, slaw, gravy, and four cornbreads, pickup Sunday from 4 to 8pm. The $55 price holds when prepaid by Friday, November 13 at noon; after that it is $60 while supplies last. Gracie’s regular hours run Saturday and Sunday 9am to 8pm. The Thanksgiving pies at $38 to $42 are a separate order, due November 22, and are not this weekend.
Two more Leeds-area stops sit within half an hour of the cabin. In Catskill, Bridge Street Theatre stages DARLIN’, a world premiere play by Michelle Carter, Saturday at 7pm and Sunday at 2pm, at $30 for adults, $25 for students, and $10 for student rush at the door. Also in Catskill, Left Bank Ciders hosts its third annual Apple Bake-Off on Saturday from 5 to 8pm at 150 Water Street, free to enter, with prizes and donations fighting food insecurity in the community.

The first snow lands Thursday night. The weekend itself is dry, cold, and built for indoors: trees in Leeds, a train in Kingston, films in Cooperstown.

The Polar Express pulls out of Kingston

The first ride leaves Friday evening, and Saturday runs all afternoon. The Polar Express train ride, presented by the Catskill Mountain Railroad, runs from Westbrook Lane Station at 55 Kingston Plaza Road, with the first ride Friday, November 13 from 6 to 8pm and Saturday, November 14 from 1 to 8pm in multiple slots. The ride runs through December 30. Adults are listed at $48 and up, children at $38 and up, with $10 off for Ulster County and Kingston residents. The railroad’s own event page does not list times or prices, so the hours and fares here come from the county tourism listing; check the ticketing page before driving down.
Kingston pairs with a Saturday market in Hudson. The Hudson Farmers Market runs Saturday from 9am to 1pm at 6th and Columbia Street, free to browse, in its outdoor season through November 28. In the evening, GATHER at Hudson Valley Table takes over The Caboose at 60 South Front Street in Hudson, cocktails at 6:30pm and dinner at 7:30pm, 21 and over, with chefs Daniel Meissner of Willa in Millerton, Joseph Lee of The Caboose, and Nicholas Leiss of Farm2ChefsTable, and Whitecliff wines. The organizer pages do not list a ticket price for GATHER.
Friday night has two more options for early arrivals. Judy Collins plays her Sweet Judy Blue Eyes farewell tour at the Bardavon in Poughkeepsie on Friday at 7:30pm, listed at $75, $65, and $55. In Rhinebeck, NAMAI opens its shop at 11 West Market Street with a grand opening celebration on Friday evening; the shop is open daily 11am to 6pm, and the celebration time was not listed on the pages checked.

Woodstock: songs, stories, and a Beatles tribute

Saturday night in Woodstock runs on two stages. At the Byrdcliffe Theatre, 380 Upper Byrdcliffe Road, Chris Wells and Jeremy Bass present Story Songs from 8 to 10pm, at $30 for members and $35 for not-yet-members. At Bearsville Theater, 291 Tinker Street, The Fab Faux plays its Beatles tribute Saturday with doors at 7pm and the show at 8pm; the organizer page does not list a price, and resale listings run far above face value, so check availability on the theater’s own page before counting on a seat.
Friday at Bearsville belongs to Loudon Wainwright III. He plays Friday, November 13 with Jenna Nicholls, doors at 7pm and the show at 8pm; the organizer page does not list a price. The Orchestra Now offers the weekend’s classical counterweight at the Fisher Center in Annandale-on-Hudson, with Gershwin, Jazz, and the Music of Jewish Émigrés on Saturday at 7pm and Sunday at 2pm, conducted by JoAnn Falletta with Mira Wang on violin, tickets from $15.
Sunday has a second stage in Garrison. Hudson Valley Shakespeare’s 11th annual Community Bake-Off, themed Revolution, holds public readings of six new plays on Saturday at 7pm and Sunday at 2pm at Snake Hill Rehearsal Studios, 2015 Route 9 in Philipstown, free, with registration at hvshakespeare.org/bake-off. The readings run on the same weekend that Tara’s Hudson Valley Shakespeare theater reel filed as next-summer material; this one is this weekend, indoors, and free.
Fishkill keeps the horror season going one more weekend. The Hudson Valley Horror Fest runs Saturday and Sunday at the Fishkill Town Recreation Department, 793 Route 52. The organizer site confirms the dates, November 14 and 15, and lists its guests; hours and ticket prices were not stated on the organizer pages checked, so check hudsonvalleyhorror.com before driving over.

Cooperstown: five days of film, two days to catch it

Glimmerglass Film Days runs Wednesday through Sunday, and the weekend holds the best of it. The 14th season of Glimmerglass Film Days screens across Cooperstown, at the Hall of Fame Grandstand Theater, the Fenimore Art Museum, and Fenimore Farm. Saturday’s highlight is The Bend in the River with a director Q and A; Sunday brings the United States premiere of Watching People Watching Birds at 12:30pm at the Fenimore, a free family screening of Monsters, Inc., and the closing film Derek vs. Derek with a director Q and A. Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door, with a Take Five Pass at $35 and two free films in the program.
Sunday morning starts outside, before the screenings. The Glimmerglass Film Days Bird Walk runs Sunday from 9 to 10am on the Fenimore Art Museum grounds, free, led by the Delaware-Otsego Audubon Society. The Cooperstown Farmers’ Market runs Saturday from 9am to 2pm at 101 Main Street, free to browse, with live music from 10am to noon.
The Hall of Fame stays open through the weekend. The National Baseball Hall of Fame at 25 Main Street is open Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 5pm, with adults at $35, seniors 65 and over at $29, children 7 to 12 at $26, under 6 free, and veterans free in November. The Fenimore Art Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10am to 4pm, with Janet Munro: A Life in Paint on view through December 31.

Dinner tables: GATHER, a Fall Feast, and a Persian table in Bovina Center

Three dinners reward booking ahead, and each carries a condition. GATHER at Hudson Valley Table, covered above, runs Saturday in Hudson with cocktails at 6:30pm and dinner at 7:30pm; the organizer pages do not list a ticket price. At AutoCamp Catskills in Saugerties, the inaugural Fall Feast runs Saturday from 5 to 7pm, a three-course family-style dinner cooked over an open fire by chef Sarah Glover, at $150 per person, 21 and over, with beer, wine, a cocktail, and a s’mores bar included. Attendance requires an on-site stay for the night of November 14 booked with the Fall Feast package, and seating is limited.
Brushland Eating House in Bovina Center is the week’s places-to-eat pick. The Persian farm-to-table restaurant at 1927 County Highway 6 runs regular Saturday dinners at $75 a guest, prepaid on Resy, doors at 6pm and dinner at 7pm, with dishes like duck fesenjan, abgoosht, Ash-e-Joojeh, saffron chicken wings with Shirazi salad, and tahdig rice. The November 14 menu was not posted on the operator site when we checked on November 11, so confirm on Resy before driving to Bovina Center. The next Persian Feast is November 29; the feast is not on this weekend.
Hudson Valley Restaurant Week runs through Monday. The fall run, November 2 through 16, covers about 100 restaurants across eight counties, with prix fixe brunch at $24.95 or $29.95, lunch at $24.95, $29.95, or $39.95, and dinner at $44.95, not including beverages, tax, or tip. Each restaurant sets its own days and meal periods, so check the listing for the table you want.

The longer drives: Saratoga, the Berkshires, and the Finger Lakes

Saturday morning in Saratoga is the indoor market’s second week. The Saratoga Farmers’ Market runs its winter season indoors at the Wilton Mall Food Court on Saturday from 9:30am to 1:30pm, entering through the Scene ONE Cinemas entrance. Saturday night, Caffè Lena hosts Professor Louie and The Crowmatix from 8 to 10pm, and the Skidmore and Bennington Folk Festival runs at the Zankel Music Center with a workshop at 2:30pm and a concert at 7:30pm featuring Jenna Moynihan with Owen Marshall. Sunday night at Caffè Lena, Farah Siraj plays from 7 to 9pm. None of the three Saratoga music listings states a ticket price on the pages checked.
The Berkshires answer with a Saturday night of their own. Endea Owens and The Cookout play MASS MoCA in North Adams on Saturday at 8pm, at $36 in advance, $46 week-of, $56 preferred, and $20 for students, with museum daytime programming the same day. Cowboy Junkies play their 40th anniversary show at the Mahaiwe in Great Barrington on Saturday at 8pm; the venue page does not list a price. The Berkshire Concert Choir sings True Colors on Saturday at 7pm and Sunday at 3pm at Zion Lutheran Church in Pittsfield. The Snow Farm Seconds Sale runs Friday through Sunday, 10am to 4pm, in Williamsburg, listed at $8 to $10.
Ithaca holds the five-hour band together. Punch Brothers play the State Theatre of Ithaca on Saturday at 8pm, $39.50 to $75, and the Whiskey Tango Sideshow plays the Hangar Theatre on Saturday at 7:30pm. The Ithaca Farmers Market runs Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 2pm at Steamboat Landing. On Keuka Lake, the Wine Trail’s Handcrafted Holiday runs Saturday from 10am to 5pm across six member wineries, self-guided, at $110 per person. On Seneca Lake, Idol Ridge Winery runs Sipsgiving Sip and Shop on Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 5pm.
The Adirondacks close the season in the same weekend. Operation Santa Claus Holiday Craft Fair runs Saturday 9am to 3pm and Sunday 10am to 3pm at the Newcomb Community Center, with lunch from 11am to 2pm both days. The Adirondack Folk School holds its holiday sale Saturday from 10am to 3pm in Lake Luzerne. The Saranac Lake Winter Farmers Market runs Saturday from 10am to 1pm in the Hotel Saranac lobby. Genesee Country Village and Museum in Mumford holds its last general-admission weekend of the season, open Friday through Sunday from 10am to 3pm; its Yuletide Wreath Workshop on Saturday is sold out.

Where to stay

Clove Creek Cabin in Lanesville — the base for this guide, minutes from the Leeds and Catskill picks and under an hour from Kingston and Woodstock: Clove Creek page and airbnb.com/h/clovecreekcabin. Blue Heron — airbnb.com/h/blue-heron-cabin.

FAQ

Is the Polar Express running this weekend?

Yes. The first ride leaves Friday, November 13 from 6 to 8pm, and Saturday, November 14 runs from 1 to 8pm in multiple slots, from Westbrook Lane Station in Kingston. Adults are listed at $48 and up, children at $38 and up, with $10 off for Ulster County and Kingston residents. The ride runs through December 30. Times and fares come from the county tourism listing; the railroad’s own event page does not list them, so check the ticketing page before driving down.

Can I ski at Hunter or Windham this weekend?

No. The projected opening dates listed for this season are Belleayre November 20, Hunter November 21, and Windham December 4, and none of the three has announced a date on its own site. Snow arrives Thursday night into Friday, but the lifts are not turning.

Is the Festival of Trees free?

No. General admission is $5, with kids 12 and under free. Saturday runs 10am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 4pm at Anthony’s Banquet Hall in Leeds. The opening-night gala on Friday is $30.

Do I need to book the Fall Feast or the Brushland dinner ahead?

Yes, both. The AutoCamp Fall Feast is $150 per person, 21 and over, and requires an on-site stay for the night of November 14 booked with the Fall Feast package. Brushland’s Saturday dinner is $75 a guest, prepaid on Resy, but the November 14 menu was not posted when we checked on November 11, so confirm on Resy before driving to Bovina Center.