Christmas in the City

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2010 A SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT TO THE AUSTIN DAILY HERALD

A tradition worth continuingThere was a period this year, to be

honest, that I was a little in doubt.The warm, summer-like weather that

extended well into fall seemed to beliethe fact that colder weather, and yes, theChristmas holiday season, was not faroff. Maybe it was the election, too, or thebusy “back-to-school” schedule. Butwhatever the reason, it was hard formany — including myself — to focusand plan for this year’s Christmas in theCity. As the time came ever closer, wewondered a bit as to whether or not thisyear’s schedule of events would meas-ure up to those which have entertainedso many for more than 20 years.

But sure as the snow flies in Min-nesota in the winter, there was littleneed to worry. Like so many elves, theChristmas in the City committee wentto work and brought in more busi-nesses, more events and more activitiesthan ever before. This year’s officialChristmas in the City calendar is chock-full of entertaining options for all mem-bers of the community. Nearly 80

businesses and organizations list eventsthat are designed to showcase them-selves, delight their customers and cel-ebrate the holiday season.

It’s a tradition worth continuing andbuilding upon.

Christmas in the City started as adowntown, Main Street event in the late1980s. It was a way to kickoff the shop-ping season for retailers and inviteeveryone downtown to see the beautifulholiday decorations for which Austin iswell-known. It’s always been an eventwith family in mind, featuring the tra-ditional sights and sounds of the holi-days.

SSaannddyy FFoorrssttnneerrExecutive Director,

Austin Area Chamber of Commerce

Herald File PhotoSanta and Mrs. Claus greet their young fans before the start of Christmas in the City last yearon Main Street.

Christmas in the City returns for 22nd year of promoting holiday tradition

> CITY continues on 4

Holiday Parade with Santa•Children light the way as the Austi-

naires, Santa Claus and a cast of holidaycharacters march from the Elks Lodge tothe Town Center stage to light the down-town Christmas displays. Arrive early.The Elk’s Lodge will open at 5 p.m., serv-ing hot chocolate to all. Free glow stickswill be distributed to children by Cham-ber Ambassadors. See “Bruiser,” theAustin Bruins Mascot, visit withKQAQ/Power 96 announcers to send yourChristmas wish list to Santa.

•Meeting Spot: Near the Elk’s Lodgeat First Avenue NW and Main Street.

Kickoff Activities•Free Photos with Santa by Christo-

pher Lee Photography located in theTown Center Building. Candy cane treatsfor the kids.

•Live Entertainment on stage, in-cluding the Austinaires, Angie Hime-baugh and Taylor Bliese.

•Free Horse-drawn Sleigh Ridesand Captain Kirby train rides throughoutthe evening.

•Musical Entertainment in TownCenter including the Ecumenical Bell En-semble and The Cedar River Strings. Plus,the magic of Jim Jayes.

•Free Hot Chocolate, served byMower County Dairy Princesses locatedin the Martial Arts building.

•Free Face Painting by MatchboxTheatre located in the Martial Arts build-ing.

•Christmas at the Paramount, 7:30p.m. Jane Taylor Academy of DanceChristmas Show and St. Lucia Festival.Scenes from the Nutcracker Suite andalso joining the Sons of Norway for theSaint Lucia Festival. Free to the public;donations accepted to Paramount Fund.

•Free Public Skate at Packer Arena,8-9 p.m. Skate rental just $1.

•Merry Elf: a magical, colorful per-sonality will light up the downtown areafrom 6-8 p.m. handing out treats to thechildren.

•B&J Bar & Grill:Smores served out-side.

•Twice is Nice:Come and get yourholiday gifts here. Thestore will be decoratedwith all the holidaydécor and we will havemany specials thatnight.

•Evenson’s Hall-mark: Open House.Come and see ourChristmas gift selec-tion.

•Novades Crystal:Come in and enjoy a free cup of cappuc-cino. Browse our store for many specialitems for Christmas.

•Bendixen Jewelry: Enjoy apple ciderand Christmas treats.

•Coffee House on Main: Stop in andwarm up with a cup of our coffee or hotchocolate. You can enjoy watching thefestivities from the comfort of our store.

•Piggy Blues BBQ:Open House. Free

sample of Gelato(Italian ice cream)Peppermint, Pump-kin Pie, Cinnamonand Caramel Apple.Register to win anXbox 360 or Vikingsjersey.

•Lou’s ForeverFraming: Decorate afree photo mat foryour picture withSanta.

•Healing PalmsSpa: we will be offer-ing three types ofhomemade fudge and

hot apple cider. We will be doing exfoliat-ing and warming hand treatments withParaffin, and also mini facials with JenaThompson, owner of Daisy Blue Natu-rals.

•Belles & Beaus:Live Models, free hotcider and donut holes from Donut Con-nection.

•Innovision Eyecare: Stop in for cook-ies, cider and coffee.

•Philomathian Religious Books &Gifts: Open House with sweet treats andsale items.

•Austin Fire Department (acrossfrom Rydjor Bike) Ladder unit 308 will bethere along with “Sparky,” also watch firesafety demonstrations.

•El Mariachi’s: México has manybeautiful Christmas traditions. Stop by tolearn about Las Posadas, the story behindthe piñata and the poinsettia plant, andtry a free sample of a traditional hot hol-iday drink called “ponche.” Local stu-dents and community members will bepresent to share their traditions. Fun forthe whole family! Sponsored by theAustin Human Rights Commission.

•Rydjor Bike: Open House with freehot apple cider and snacks. Our annual“Trek the Haus” holiday sale will also betaking place that night.

•Hastings Shoe Store: ChristmasOpen House; stop in for some snacks andto browse our store for your gift givingneeds. Celebrating more than 100 years ofserving Austin.

2 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2010 AUSTIN DAILY HERALD - CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY

CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY OPEN HOUSE

Friday, November 26th • 6-8pm Come see the Live Models In The Store Window!Hot Cider, Donut Holes from Donut Connection.

Drawings For Prizes!

Christmas in the City schedule of downtown events

Christmas in the City

Downtown Austin: 6-8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 26

•Culver’s Restaurant: Free for allages. Culver’s Restaurant will be havinga return visit of Santa’s “Live” Reindeerin training. These are reindeer that willsomeday pull Santa’s sleigh, sponsoredby Oak Park Mall.

•Games People Play: Horse-drawnsleigh rides, face painting and homemadedonuts.

•Community Bank: Captain Kirbytrain rides for all children and hot choco-late for everyone.

•WalMart: Kids make your ownChristmas ornament.

•Applebee’s: Free pictures withSanta.

•AmericInn: Refreshments of cook-ies and hot chocolate. Free kids mealcoupon from Perkins. Visit with theAustin Fire Department and “Sparky.”

•Double K Specialty: A BarnyardChristmas. Various farm animals in our

warehouse.•Holiday Inn & Austin

Conference Center: Freepicture with Mrs. Claus,photo frame, cookies andtake-home craft.

•Hy-Vee: Miniaturecow and other farm ani-mals.

•Edward Jones: Cook-ies, hot apple cider and coffee. Registerfor door prizes.

•Staples: Christmas ornament deco-rating.

•Ruskell Hardware: Make your ownChristmas ornament and enjoy cookiesand cider.

•Arby’s: Stop in and visit with Bub-bles the Clown and “The Mitt.” Specialtreats and crafts available too.

•Usem Chevrolet:Cookie decorating.•Quiznos Sub: Free kidz meal with

silly bandz with adultentrée purchase. Child12 years old or youngermust be present.

•Oak Park Mall:Hot cider, Christmascookies and Christmasmusic. Drawing forprizes at 7:45 p.m.

•Stadheim Jewel-ers: Christmas jewelry crafting.

•BLS Imports & Specialty: Coloringcontest and refreshments.

•Maurice’s: Candy canes and Christ-mas tattoos.

•Great Clips: Treats, a drawing forfree hair cuts and products. Hair paintingfor the kids.

•Fastenal: We will have snacks anddrinks available. Also, enter your namefor a drawing for door prizes.

•Shopko: We’ll be having a coloring

contest, Christmas treats and apple cider.•Gymocha: Free samples of our cof-

fee, hot chocolate and homemade bakedgoods.

•Dolan’s Landscape Center: We willbe making pinecone bird feeders and willhave areas set up for taking holiday fam-ily photos, so bring your cameras. Snacksand cider will be provided.

•Wendy’s: Fix and mix your ownfrosty. Also, fake tattoos, hot chocolateand picture coloring.

AUSTIN DAILY HERALD - CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2010 3

•American Family In-surance — Ed LeeAgency: Stop by for cook-ies and cider and also regis-ter for a drawing to win oneof two free turkeys donatedby Jim’s SuperValu.

•Dairy Queen:Childrenwill receive a free gift froman elf. Also, there will behot chocolate or coffee, along with a holi-day treat.

•Family Eye Care Center: Stop in forhot apple cider and cookies.

•Walgreens: Kids can enjoy making asnowman ornament.

•Sterling Drug Main Street:Free pic-ture with Santa from 4 to 7 p.m. All chil-dren will receive a free gift from Santa.

•Sterling State Bank:Come join us forsleigh rides in the parking lot. Face paint-ing and Christmas crafts inside. Also,enjoy performances from Austin’s BigBand, playing a variety of holiday musicfrom 5 to 6 p.m. Just For Kix Dancers at 6

p.m. Also, enjoy hot orcold cider and holidaytreats.

• C o r n e r s t o n eChurch: Candy canewalk, crafts, face paint-ing and Christmassnacks and drinks.

•Bursch Travel:Stopin to visit with Mrs.

Claus and to get some fresh popcorn.•T.G.I. Freitags Rent to Own: Warm

up with some hot chocolate and cookieswhile the children enjoy jumping aroundin the Jumping Balloon.

•Sterling Beauty Salon:Enjoy cookiesand cider. Also, face painting and a giftbag to take along with you.

•Blecker Realty: Stop in for a cup ofhot chocolate.

•Berg’s Nursery: Bring your family tosee the animals of Subra’s petting zoofrom 5-7 p.m. Co-sponsored by ApolloLiquor & Superette. Enjoy hot apple ciderand cookies while enjoying the fresh cut

Christmas trees.•Apollo Liquor: Come in for wine and

cheese tasting.•Apollo Superette: Stop by for some

Hawaiian shaved ice tropical snow sam-ples.

A special thank you to Essence Salon fortheir donation toward Christmas in the SW.

Christmas in the Northwest schedule of eventsChristmas in the NW

18th Avenue (Oak Park Mall area)

4:30-7:30 p.m. Tues-day Nov. 30

Christmas in the SW

Sterling ShoppingCenter area

4-7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 2

Christmas in the Southwest schedule

4 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2010 AUSTIN DAILY HERALD - CHRISTMAS IN THE CITY

PARADE & HOLIDAY LIGHTING CEREMONY 6PM

KIDS GET YOUR LIGHT STICKS AT THE ELKS FROM 5-6 P.M.

PRIZE DRAWINGSPHOTOS WITH SANTA CLAUS

TOWN CENTER

SLEIGH & TRAIN RIDES

LIVE MUSICAL ENTERTAINMENT INSIDE & OUTSIDE THE TOWN CENTER

REGISTER FOR HOLIDAY PRIZE DRAWING BEGINNING NOVEMBER 19TH

KICKOFF IN DOWNTOWNAUSTIN FRIDAY, NOV. 26

FROM 6-8 PM

CChhrriissttmmaass iinn tthhee NNoorrtthhwweessttTUESDAY, NOVEMBER 30TH • 4:30-7:30PM

Celebrate the holidays at 25 stores along and near 18th Ave. NW. Photos with Santa, Santa's live reindeer,face painting, holiday decorating, sleigh rides and more.

Drawing for prizes at 7:45 in Oak Park Mall.

CChhrriissttmmaass iinn tthhee SSoouutthhwweessttTHURSDAY, DECEMBER 2ND • 4:00-7PMSterling Shopping Center area stores host open houses, horse-drawn

sleigh rides, free photos, gifts from Santa, Just for Kix dancers,refreshments and more.

austincoc.com for complete listings

Christmas in the Citywas extended to other areasof the community in 2002.Christmas in the NW fea-tures businesses along the18th Avenue NW retailarea. It’s an extensive areawith a wide variety of busi-nesses, both large andsmall, and the number ofparticipating stores andpeople attending eventscontinues to grow everyyear.

Ditto for the Southwestarea, which now includesbusinesses all along Oak-land and First Avenuesfrom Walgreens to Berg’sNursery and Landscape.

You can’t have a holiday celebrationwithout Santa Claus, sleigh rides, musicor holiday treats. Christmas in the City

has all that and much,much more. It’s an eventdesigned to entertainwhile showcasing whatAustin has to offer. A timeto celebrate the traditionsof the season and thecommunity we call home.

Thanks to everyonewho worked so hard to puttogether this year’s sched-ule of events, particularlythe chairs of the organiz-ing committees: ShelleyJones and Abby Wangen(Christmas in the SW),Naomi Thompson andKari Soderberg (Christ-mas in the City Kickoff),and Hope Deyo and TinaChristianson (Christmasin the NW).

If these events are any indication, it’sgoing to be a great holiday season in theCity of Austin.

City: Events to continuethoughout holiday seasonFrom Page 1

Kristin Ansorge and her daugh-ter Zara, 3, listen to the Austi-naires during Christmas in theCity last year on Main Street.