In a twist on holiday spirit, Santa Claus spent last Friday in Newburgh demanding that government officials act on climate change and reject the Danskammer Fracked Power Plant.

The event was organized by Extinction Rebellion Hudson Highlands.

“We’re [Extinction Rebellion Hudson Highlands] all about sort of using civil disobedience to highlight the climate and ecological emergencies,” said Krystal Valiquette Ford, founder of Extinction Rebellion Hudson Highlands.

The action was initially scheduled for last Tuesday morning, but due to inclement weather, it was moved to Friday. It started out on the Green Lawn of Safe Harbors on the Hudson. It was an intimate gathering of a little over 20 people. Other groups like the Stop the Danskammer Fracked Gas Plant group came out in support. The group chanted and sang climate themed twists on Christmas carols.

Activists also handed out flyers to passersby explaining their message. With a slight echo down Broadway, the group marched to Grand Street to visit the offices of Sen. James Skoufis, Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson, and Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney.

“We were basically asking for politicians to say no to Danskammer gas fire plant, and to ask for politicians to act on climate change,” said Krystal Valiquette Ford, founder of Extinction Rebellion Hudson Highlands.

“Climate change is a disaster for my work,” declared Claus in a press release from last Monday. “Our house and workshop burned in the Arctic fires this past summer. The ice is melting and half the reindeer population has died off. Floods, wildfires, droughts, families forced into migration---it’s getting harder to deliver presents to children in many places.”

The Danskammer Fracked Power Plant is at the center of the Hudson Valley’s very own fight against the climate crisis. Recently the Newburgh City Council came out against the plant, but government officials like Skoufis haven’t come out with a solid stance on the plant.

“We’re highlighting the need for the government to say we’re in a climate emergency,” said Ford. “So that means if we’re in a climate emergency, that means we need to stop building fossil fuel projects.”

Extinction Rebellion Hudson Highlands plans to do more themed actions in Newburgh after the New Year.