Old fashioned Christmas
Downtown Minot holds open house and tree lighting ceremonyBy DAN FELDNER, Staff Writer dfeldner@minotdailynews.com
Article Photos
Thousands of people took a stroll down memory lane in downtown Minot Friday to enjoy the beginning of the Christmas season in a little more slow and old fashioned way than the hustle and bustle that could be found at many of the larger shopping centers.
The annual Open House and Tree Lighting Ceremony sponsored by the Downtown Business and Professional Association took center stage in downtown Minot and gave those who attended a chance to wander from shop to shop in the crisp, winter air without having to worry about missing a big sale or getting trampled by a horde of shoppers racing to grab the last item on the shelf.
"It's not so commercialized. It's more (about) family (and) community," said Bonny Kemper, president of the downtown association.
Activities for the entire family were held all day long to show off a little of the magic that downtowns of yesteryear were famous for. Street vendors could be found up and down Main Street offering hot food and drinks to bring some warmth to the cold night. Live music was played at several locations throughout the evening and was complemented by Christmas music played through speakers all along Main Street. Kids and adults enjoyed hayrides as they gazed at the candy cane-colored lights wrapped around light poles.
And not only were pictures with Santa Claus on the menu, so was an entire supper with the jolly old elf and Mrs. Claus at All Saints Episcopal Church. After the meal, a candlelight procession highlighted by caroling was held from the church to the giant Christmas tree at the corner of Central Avenue and Main Street.
That led to the big event of the evening - the lighting of the Christmas tree. Following a prayer led by Father Austin Vetter of St. Leo's Catholic Church, Col. Joel Westa, commander of the 5th Bomb Wing at Minot Air Force Base, braved the chilly weather to say a few quick words to the large crowd that had gathered to see the signature moment of the evening.
Then shortly after 6 p.m. the tree was lit to cheering and clapping from the crowd and honks from many of the cars surrounding the area. As the music blared through speakers the 20,000 computer-controlled lights on the tree danced in time to the beat of the songs as the crowd roared its approval.
The synchronized lights are a first for the open house, and are a reality because of the downtown association's wine walk held earlier this year.
"And this was made possible by the proceeds from the wine walk," said Mary Helen Hasby, owner of Cookies for You. "So thank you to the community for participating in the wine walk, and the sponsors. The proceeds went towards the beautification of downtown Minot, which this year is being used (for the musically-synced Christmas tree lights)."
In another first, there were several Horn of Plenty drop-off boxes located throughout downtown, including at a bus parked next to the giant Christmas tree, that gave the crowds a chance to give gifts as well as buy them.
While the Minot Area Homeless Coalition has generally been the recipient of items donated to the Canadian Pacific Rail Holiday Train, Hasby said they wanted to help another worthy organization this year and the lighting of the Christmas tree gave them the opportunity to do just that.
"Usually I think, for the holiday train, proceeds have been going to the homeless coalition," Hasby said. "And so this year with the lighting of the Christmas tree, we just kind of wanted to add that element of giving to needy families, because it's actually what Christmas is all about."
Kemper said the evening couldn't have gone any better. Although there were a few hitches getting the Christmas tree music going, over all she said it was an incredible night that all who attended won't soon forget.
"Well I'm telling you that the night was spectacular. It started off at three o'clock this afternoon (when) we had the hayrides. They were packed and busy since three o'clock and now they're starting up again," Kemper said. "The pictures with Santa were great, there were kids lined up all the time. We had several thousand people down here, the streets were packed. And the stores have seen people in and out all day.
"If there's ever a success, this is a success. Absolutely fabulous. We've had tons of good compliments, and they absolutely loved the tree."
Kemper wasn't the only one to notice the crowds were much bigger than in years past. John MacMartin of Minot, who was helping give away free bags of roasted chestnuts compliments of Esoterica, said they gave out every last one of their bags in a little over an hour, and normally they don't go through all the bags during the entire night.
"We ran through all the chestnuts so now we're just standing by the open fire keeping warm," MacMartin said.
He said the improvements being made to downtown have definitely been able to lure more people there than in the past, which should bode well for the area's future.
"I think there's a lot more people downtown and it's nice to see. I think the new lights, the allure of the newly decorated tree downtown just brought people downtown," MacMartin said. "And the storefronts look beautiful, and it's just nice to see. It's nice to see everybody walking downtown."
Keith Schilling of Minot said he was impressed by the tree lighting ceremony, especially by the number of lights on the tree. He didn't do any shopping, but came downtown to simply enjoy the evening and take in the unique atmosphere the area affords.
"I really enjoyed it, it was great, great," Schilling said. "Good to see a big crowd down here."
While Schilling could have braved the crowds at the large shopping malls, he decided his time would be better spent enjoying the slower pace of downtown and avoiding the bigger shopping districts altogether.
"I haven't even been out there today," Schilling said. "I had the day off, and I came down here. I like it down here."
Marty and Mary Graner of Minot also preferred the slower pace of downtown. Mary said she went to the mall for about an hour in the afternoon to do a bit of shopping, but greatly preferred her shopping experience downtown.
"It's nice to see the business people down here working together to improve," Mary Graner said. "Nice to see the beautiful Christmas tree and listen to the music."
The Graners were both impressed with the synchronized lights of the Christmas tree - Mary said it reminded her of the lights at Walt Disney World, just on a smaller scale - and they said downtown has changed dramatically from the last time they were there quite a few years ago.
"I think the businesses are doing far more for Christmas," Mary said. "Just to see what they've done with wrapping the poles (with colored lights) and the music they have playing now."
This is the type of reaction the downtown merchants were looking for, and it seems to have been a huge success. Hasby said it's this old fashioned, small town feel they want to replicate in order to stand out from the more generic and commercial shopping malls.
"And it really does seem to me to be one of those places, that, you know, if you were shopping downtown Minot and you walk out of one store and into another and you hear that music, it would be just one of those places that you would just want to live," said Hasby. "It's like that kind of a community, you know? And I just love that, because we live here."
