Family and friends attended the Light Up Main Street event in Old Town Newhall on Saturday, Nov. 18 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. The event featured a Christmas tree lighting and a variety of fun activities for all attendees.
Since 2013, Light Up Main Street has been held as a yearly Christmas gathering for the entire community. The event aims to encourage families to celebrate the holiday season. According to the City of Santa Clarita Website, “One goal for the Communications team to tackle was to attract new and young families to Light Up Main Street in hopes of starting new holiday traditions in the City’s Old Town Newhall.”
Volunteers were positioned throughout Main Street to assist in the many operations of the event. Gabby Vera, a volunteer coordinator for the City of Santa Clarita, explained the responsibilities of the volunteers. “This event spans for five blocks and our volunteers are spread out helping in four out of the five [blocks]. They are helping manage the snow area, they are also at the activity booth, craft areas and they are also managing lines at a block filled with eight inflatables with very long lines for all ages to enjoy,” Vera said. “As far as volunteers go, we have a very generous community who are willing to give back their time, effort and talent.”
The streets were lined with holiday lights, fake snow and illuminated life-size presents. Businesses along Main Street also decorated their storefronts with Christmas lights. In addition to the decor, there were many winter-themed activities including writing letters to Santa, a snow zone where kids could play around in fake snow, an elves’ arts and crafts workshop, a candy cane carnival and numerous bounce houses.
Attendees were able to eat from food trucks and take pictures with popular holiday characters such as the Grinch, Christmas angels and Santa. On the main stage, a band called the Soo Singers and the Hart Show Choir Carolers entertained guests with Christmas music.
One of the businesses on Main Street was Mixed By Design, an interior design store focused on curating beautiful, sustainable and uniquely designed pieces clients will love for decades. Attendees were welcomed into the store by Christmas lights and decor as well as cookies and hot cocoa.
Employee Corey Cosby shared her work experience: “I love the people I work with, they’re very kind people. I love design, I love interior design, patterns and fabric and I really geek out over that stuff so it’s really fun to be around it”.
Cosby elaborated on how Light Up Main Street impacts the business. “I think when they do Light up Main Street it really [brings] the community down here and [they] realize what’s here because a lot of times we get people who come in and say ‘we’ve never seen this place before’, ‘we’ve never walked down Main Street before’”.
From caroling, watching musicals, eating at food trucks and enjoying the beautiful decorations, the various entertainment options and activities seemed endless. For many, celebrating the holiday season at Light Up Main Street is a long-standing occurrence.
“For me, it’s been twelve years,” explained attendee Renee Laramore. “My daughter started when she was only not even a year old yet—she was around nine months—and now she’s twelve.”
With a high turnout, Light Up Main Street continues to be a festive tradition within Santa Clarita Valley. As winter is finally here and the holiday season is rolling around, now is the perfect time to go out and spend time with your loved ones. For more events such as Light Up Main Street, make sure to check out the events calendar on the City of Santa Clarita website.
