Unplug the Muzak, boycott the mall traffic and head to Essex Village for the Essex Board of Trade’s Annual Holiday Stroll, a quintessentially New England shopping experience taking place on Saturday, December 1 from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm. In addition to special savings and festive refreshments at participating shops and restaurants, free gift wrapping will be provided at Page Taft – Christies Real Estate with donations benefitting the Essex Community Fund. Free horse-drawn carriage rides through the heart of the village will be offered from 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm while the Hilltop Barbershop Quartet will perform at various locations from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm. Then at 4:00 pm, the Grace Notes Handbell Choir will perform in front of the Griswold Inn, leading up to a performance by the Coast Guard Academy Idlers and tree lighting in Griswold Square at 4:45 pm. It is a day filled with holiday memories in the making and made possible by events sponsors Wells Fargo Advisors, Peck and Ficarra Attorneys At Law, Scensibles, Valley Courier, Hudson Paper and the Griswold Inn. Free parking is available on village streets, in designated lots and at Essex Town Hall. For more information, go to www.experienceessex.com or call the Essex Board of Trade at 860-767-3904.