The Arnold Farmers Market will be transformed into a winter wonderland on Saturday, Dec. 2, when the city holds its first Christmas in the Park.
The event is set for 4-8 p.m. at the market, which is near the entrance of Arnold City Park at 1 Bradley Beach Road off Jeffco Boulevard.
“We are all really looking forward to it,” Mayor Ron Counts said. “I think it will be a great event. Hopefully, it will be the first of many.”
Christmas in the Park will be the first Christmas-themed free community event the city has held in more than 10 years.
Before that, the city used to hold a Christmas parade, Parks and Recreation Department Director Dave Crutchley said.
“We started having bad weather every time (the parade) was scheduled, and we stopped it because it was a lot of planning and kept being canceled,” he said. “The mayor said he wanted to start a new tradition, and we got a committee together to do (Christmas in the Park).”
Festivities
Gateway Fireworks, the company the city hires to put on the Fourth of July and Arnold Days fireworks shows, will set up snow machines by an entryway leading into the market.
A Christmas tree fashioned from lights streaming down a 40-foot pole will be located in the field to the left of the market. Counts is scheduled to light the tree at about 5:30 p.m. during a brief ceremony that will include a prayer from First Baptist Church of Arnold Pastor Kenny Qualls.
“It will be a large lit tree that will be seen while driving on Jeffco,” Crutchley said.
A 40-foot pole will have strands of lights streaming down it to create a Christmas tree next to the Arnold Farmers Market.
The Celebration Barber Shop Quartet will perform at the stage near the tree prior to the lighting ceremony. Members of the Vita Cantus Chorale and the Once Voice Children’s Choir will perform on the stage for about 30 minutes after the lighting ceremony, and Vita Cantus Chorale members will sing carols for the rest of the event, Arnold administrative assistant Terri Starwalt said.
Representatives from the Salvation Army will give away hot dogs and hot chocolate. The Salvation Army also will accept donations for its annual Red Kettle campaign.
Arnold Jaycees and Arsenal Credit Union representatives will set out fire pits around the market area and hand out free kits to make s’mores.
The Arnold Chamber of Commerce and the Arnold Rotary Club will give items to children, and a craft area will be set up for children.
Representatives from the Jefferson County Library Arnold Branch will read stories to children starting at about 4:30 p.m., which also is the time Santa Claus is scheduled to make an appearance.
Santa Claus will be available for photos at his house near the tree, and several Christmas characters, including the Grinch, Cindy Lou Who and Frosty the Snowman will be available for photos throughout the market area. Families will need to take their own pictures.
Crutchley said the city expects to have up to 20 craft vendors at the event.
“We hope a lot of people will make this a new Christmas tradition,” he said. “We believe we have set it up for kids to have a lot of things to do.”
Crutchley said Arnold is spending less than $10,000 to hold the event.
Virtual world
Also at the event, the city will unveil an Augmented Reality phone app created by Holiday Outdoor Decor, and visitors will be able to scan a QR code to download it and play interactive games set in the market.
The games are similar to “Pokemon Go,” which inserts interactive graphics into a real-world setting.
“One of the games will be a snowball fight with elves, and there will be one that will have Santa Claus appear in the market,” Crutchley said.
The game may be played in the market area through the first week of January.
More winter events
The week after Christmas in the Park, the city will hold its first of four winter markets at the Farmers Market.
Teresa Kohut, parks superintendent and the city’s market master, said a Christmas market will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, with Santa Claus making an appearance at about noon. Santa will arrive on a tractor and will be available for photos until about 3 p.m.
The city also will hold winter markets from 9-11:30 a.m. on Jan. 13, Feb. 10 and March 9.
The market season ended on Nov. 11, and Kohut said it was another successful season.
“Every time I think it can’t get any better, it does,” she said. “We are excited about where the market is heading. It has been very successful. Even when it got chilly, we still had a lot of customers and vendors coming out.”
Arnold will introduce another new holiday event this year – “Night Out with the Mean One” scheduled from 4:30-7:30 p.m. at the Arnold Recreation Center indoor pool area, 1695 Missouri State Road.
Admission is $8 for rec center members and city residents, and $10 for non-residents and non-members.
Pre-registration is required, and those interested may register by calling 636-282-2380 by Dec. 4. Attendees may swim in the indoor pool and have their pictures taken with the Grinch.
Kohut said the city is holding this event instead of breakfast with Santa, which was held in the past.
“I think people will really like it,” she said. “We are trying to change things up a little bit, and it’s for people who may feel the breakfast was too expensive to get pictures with Santa.”