Organizers of the newly named “Hometown Holiday Weekend” are pleased with what they believe was a successful event.
“From all the reports I got, it was a hit,” Faye Whitbeck, president of the local chamber said of the weekend.
This year, the Chamber of Commerce partnered with Elks Lodge 1599 to bring a more unified holiday celebration to the community. Festivities kicked off Friday at the Elks, which featured pictures with Santa, arts and crafts for youngsters, and a sloppy joe feed.
Elks member Kris Oveson said this year saw a better turnout than others.
“We sold 238 sloppy joes,” she said. “We could have sold more, but we ran out of buns. Next year, we’ll plan for more.”
Oveson and Whitbeck agreed that this year was a learning experience and next year, the organizations will plan to accommodate more people.
Whitbeck said s’mores supplies and hot chocolate ran out after the parade and in previous years, “we’ve had to throw stuff away,” she said.
The annual ‘Twas the Lights Before Christmas parade took on a new route, beginning near Falls Lumber and ending at the flag park near the Chamber of Commerce.
“With this route, people were able to watch the parade twice,” Whitbeck said. “It was great people made their way over to main street because that is exactly where we wanted them. We feel the new route celebrated our downtown area.”
Whitbeck said parade entries were up from previous years and noted some of them were “pretty amazing.”
Parade winners included: first place — Candy Land by the Gizzard Girls; second place — three-part religious theme by Wood Interiors and Sheldon Zook of Loman; third place — Coffee Landing Cafe; and honorable mention — the giant snow globe by Duty Free America.
“We just felt there was more energy and interest from the community this year,” Whitbeck said of the community’s reaction to the parade.
Following the parade, people of all ages were treated to hot chocolate and s’mores and Whitbeck said the feedback about both were so positive, that another fire pit will be added next year.
To cap off the evening, a group of carolers sang a number of Christmas classics to the crowd in front of the Elks Lodge.
Other festivities
Whitbeck told The Journal that part of the purpose of the Hometown Holiday Weekend was to keep holiday shoppers in town to support the local economy.
Businesses stayed open later than normal Friday and Steve Fox of Ronnings reported the day brought in “record sales” for the store.
“Business was steady all day,” Fox said.
Whitbeck said several other downtown-area businesses saw positive sales by staying open for the parade.
Tori Owen of the Coffee Landing Cafe told The Journal traffic was steady and the majority of people were ordering hot chocolate to drink.
“We want to keep vitality in our community by keeping people in town to support local businesses who support the community all year round,” Whitbeck said. “Businesses are the backbone of our community. Businesses are the first ones people think of when organizing something and need fund raising or donations. So keep that in mind. By buying gifts in your own area, you’re supporting your own future and the future of your children.”
The weekend festivities ended with free movies with Santa Saturday at Cine 5. Whitbeck said seats were full and families seemed to have a good time at all three shows.
“Wonderful participation with great floats and entries in the parade. Thank you, Borderland,” Whitbeck concluded.
