At 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, October 1, the Woodstock Planning & Zoning Commission met in Meeting Room 1 at Town Hall and reopened the public hearing on 292 Route 169. Fifteen members of the public attended, three of them on Zoom. Questions from the public were practical ones, including which way traffic would flow through the parking lot and where the new driveway would sit. The project engineer walked the room through the traffic pattern and the do-not-enter signs. Later that evening the commission approved Scranton Village unanimously.
The headlines since then have been about the carousel and the ice cream. The conditions attached to the approval say more about how this stretch of Route 169 will feel once the project is built. Woodstock said yes to a storybook village on the condition that it keeps capped hours, turns its lights off soon after closing and plays no amplified music. Until it opens, the town's late evenings happen on Route 171 and at the Loos Center.
What is planned at 292 Route 169
The developer is Josh Biando, a children's book author and amusement park designer. His company, Big City Engineering, does movie set design. CT Post reported on October 8 that the center will be built around Scranton Shops, the antiques business already on the site. In the same article, Biando described small new buildings clustered around a restored 1951 Allan Herschell Little Beauty carousel. The two existing buildings on the site would become a café and a general store, and the general store would hold Polar & Finn's Ice Cream Shop.
The shop's name comes from two dogs in Biando's book, "Polar & Finn: Christmas Chaos." He told CT Post the frozen treats will be named for characters from his children's books. He also said he is talking with a possible tenant for a restaurant, but no name has been given.
Each of the new storefronts is about 400 square feet. Biando told CT Post that the small size is meant to keep costs down for owners, "so smaller businesses can survive without the increased costs of rentals and electricity and all that." He described the overall idea this way:
"Basically like an old Main Street in America that used to be, that is not there anymore."
The plan has also changed since summer. When The Connecticut Scoop covered the proposal on July 16, the night of an earlier hearing, it described six shops, a family train ride, a gold-mining experience Scranton Shops had recently opened, and holiday plans that included Halloween animatronics and Christmas lights with hot chocolate. By October, the version described in CT Post centered on the carousel, the café, the general store and the small storefronts. No construction start or opening date has been announced.
The conditions that shape it
The approval is based on plans first submitted May 15 and revised through September 29. The hearing ran across two meetings, opening on September 17 and closing on October 1. The October 1 minutes list these conditions:
- Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. at most, Monday through Saturday. On Sunday the limit is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Lighting: dark-sky compliant fixtures. All site lighting except emergency lighting must go off within 30 minutes after closing and can't come on earlier than 30 minutes before opening.
- Sound: no amplified music on the site.
- Tenants: every shop on the site has to follow the terms of the special permit.
- Look: a 30-by-40-foot steel building painted red with a black roof, in keeping with Woodstock's agricultural character, plus small shed-style buildings with porches.
- Spacing: buildings set 10 feet apart, at the Fire Marshal's request.
- Drainage: the bond was increased from $5,900 to also cover infiltration trenches and rain gardens.
The minutes also record that the state Department of Transportation has approved the plans. The town planner reported that the Wetlands Commission had been consulted and found the revised plans have less impact than the original version.
Put together, the site lighting at 292 Route 169 goes off by 9:30 p.m. at the latest, and there is no amplified music at any hour. On Sundays the village closes at 5 p.m., with its lights off by 5:30.
The fairgrounds idea is still a plan
One part of Biando's plans is happening off the site. He told CT Post he is working with the town on family-friendly Halloween and Christmas displays at the Woodstock Fairgrounds. He said the fairgrounds would give him the space "to take everything I have created over the years to an entirely new level." He is known for the large holiday displays he puts up at his home in Oxford, Massachusetts.
So far, no name, dates, hours or ticketing have been published for a display at the fairgrounds this Halloween or Christmas. Neither the Board of Selectmen minutes from September 17 nor those from October 1 show an approval. For this season, treat it as something Biando hopes to do, not an event to plan around.
Where the evenings are this season
With the new village still unbuilt, Woodstock's evening options for the next few weeks are on Route 171 and at the Loos Center. Route 169 has also gone quieter. Roseland Cottage, the town's best-known stop on that road, ended its 2026 tour season on October 25.
Taylor Brooke Winery & Brewery, at 818 Route 171, has the busiest calendar in town. It named a wine after the cottage and released this year's Roseland Red on October 15 to 18. The next releases are Cranberry Riesling and a Cranberry Winter Warmer beer, both running Thursday, October 29, through Sunday, November 1. Thirsty Thursday at the brewery runs 2 to 8 p.m. with $6 beer and wine. On Fridays, New England Trivia runs 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and is free to play.
The Loos Center for the Arts has three shows between now and early December.
| Date | Where | What |
|---|---|---|
| Thu., Oct. 29 – Sun., Nov. 1 | Taylor Brooke, 818 Route 171 | Cranberry Riesling and Cranberry Winter Warmer releases |
| Sat., Oct. 31, 10 a.m. and noon | The Woodstock Academy | "Huddle Up: 20 Years of Football at WA" reunion, then the game against Waterford |
| Sat., Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m. | Loos Center for the Arts | Taylor • Simon • King |
| Sat., Nov. 14, 7:30 p.m. | Loos Center for the Arts | Bruce In The USA |
| Wed., Nov. 25, 5 to 9:30 p.m. | Taylor Brooke | Thanksgiving Eve karaoke with Destination Event Co., 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.; Blue Ox pizza, 5 to 8:30 p.m. |
| Thu., Nov. 26 | Taylor Brooke | Winery and brewery closed |
| Sat., Nov. 28, 2 to 5 p.m. | Taylor Brooke | Alpaca Lunch, an old-time string band |
| Sat., Nov. 28, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Hansen Family Tree Farm, 424 Route 198 | Opening day for choose-and-harvest trees |
| Sat., Dec. 5, 2 p.m. | Loos Center for the Arts | The Barter Players in "Frosty: A Musical Adventure," doors at 1 p.m. |
The Woodstock Academy event on Halloween morning marks two decades of football at the school. The reunion starts at 10 a.m., before the noon kickoff.
The Saturday after Thanksgiving
Two very different things happen on November 28. In the afternoon, Alpaca Lunch plays Appalachian old-time music at Taylor Brooke. Its lineup includes guitar, banjo, fiddle, bass, ukulele and harmonica. Earlier that day, Hansen Family Tree Farm in Woodstock Valley opens for the season at 9 a.m. It is open Saturdays and Sundays only, from its 424 Route 198 location. Saws are provided, netting is free, and leashed pets are welcome. Payment is cash or check only. For the thirteenth year, the farm is offering kid-sized trees: when a family buys one full-size tree, each child can pick a small tree from a separate area for $20, while they last.
I live in Woodstock and drive Route 169 like everyone else, and I'll keep an eye on what happens at 292 as the café, the carousel and the small shops take shape. If you own a home along the corridor and want to talk through how a new neighbor like Scranton Village may affect your plans, Kristen Kaskela would be glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.
