Few things will be the same this year for Winter Walk in Hudson. There is no mass gathering, no street vendors, no street closures, and no fireworks.
But, yes, Virginia, there will be Sax O’Claus! Saturday, December 5th from 5-8pm.
This will be Sax O’Claus’ 24th Winter Walk in Hudson. Vince Mulford saw him perform in Troy in October 1997, then asked him to perform in front of his store for the next ten years. After that, Sax O’Claus performed throughout Hudson, walking up and down Warren Street.
Sax O’Claus, aka Blue Hand Luke, loves coming down to Hudson and reminisces about the people he met. One year, a little girl asked, “Santa, can you take my list, now?” On the list, he recalls seeing a warm blanket and a VHS-version of a “Little Princess” movie. One middle-aged man asked Sax O’Claus for a new kidney. Sax O’Claus looked at the woman walking with the man, who nodded and confirmed, “yes, he needs a new kidney.”
Sax O’Claus plays every Christmas song – with the exceptions of ‘Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer’ and ‘Dominic the Donkey’.
Sax O’Claus has a helper elf who also plays tenor saxophone – Joshua Greenberg. Sax O’Claus reminded me of Irving Berlin and the many Jewish writers and producers of Christmas songs we know and love – songs such as Rudolph, Frosty, White Christmas, and many more.
One year, a senior-aged woman scolded Sax O’Claus, “Why are there no songs about Mrs. Claus? That’s not right,” she said, “after all the things she’s done for you!”
Sax O’Claus agreed.
This year, in the spirit of equality and harmony during the holidays, Sax O’Claus, with the help of his Jewish elf, Josh, co-wrote a song dedicated to Mrs. Claus.
And here it is: