Festival delights
A sea of faces looked up to the balcony of Alex's Plaza Restaurant as Santa and Mrs. Claus counted down the final moments.
Flash.
Lights illuminated the Plaza as local businesses simultaneously flipped the switch to celebrate Ashland's 14th annual Festival of Light.
A parade of brightened floats rolled down East Main Street, and children and adults peered in local shop windows to see what might be under the tree on Christmas day. The holidays, it seemed, had officially arrived.
About 1,000 people filled the Plaza, according to Ashland Police.
After the lighting of more than 1 million bulbs in the downtown area, Victor Tezanos and his children — 7-year-old Tesa and 6-year-old Bella — waited outside the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Black Swan Theatre. Santa was making his way inside, and they didn't want to miss him.
"Ashland has got a real great feeling, all the time really," Tezanos said. "The holidays are really a special time here."
It was Tezanos' first visit to the Festival of Light, and he said it was really nice.
One of Ashland's largest annual events gets bigger every year, said Sandra Slattery, executive director of the Ashland Chamber of Commerce. What started out as a small, decorating tradition, grew to a point where it needed some structure. Now, fund raising for the event pushes almost $40,000, and a hired contractor organizes the lighting. The celebration gets larger every year, but Slattery said it keeps the same feel. The lights draw people downtown for an outside shopping experience where they can peer in windows rather than trudge through a mall.
"It's small-town America at its best," Slattery said.
Stacy Page, owner of Holiday Illumination, strings lights with four employees for weeks before the event. His crew has used cranes and ladders to decorate the town for the past seven years. Page set timers Friday for all of the downtown lights except the Plaza. When Santa counted down to one, Plaza businesses simultaneously flipped their switches to light the night.
The last day is always a scramble, Page said, because people tend to find out at the last minute that their lights won't turn on.
"There's always something," he said.
The downtown lights will stay on during the night time until the first week of January. Some of them stay up all year long, and others come down after the holiday season. Setting the stage is the most stressful part, Page said.
"Once they're on, I can relax," he said.
The festival, which includes an ice skating exhibition and other kids' activities, also helps local businesses.
Steve Holt, co-owner of Allyson's of Ashland upscale kitchenware store on East Main Street, said the busiest shopping day of the year brought in a crowd.
"It's been busy since morning," Holt said. "It (the festival) creates a downtown old-fashioned atmosphere. It's kind of nostalgic."
He said the festival gives people an excuse to be downtown.
"It acts as a really good local kickoff to the holiday season," Holt said.
Fredrica Lawrence, who owns a downtown women's clothing store called Fredrica Lawrence Fine Clothing, said the festival helps her 33-year-old business each year. The lights draw shoppers to the downtown area throughout the season, she said.
"It's definitely changed things for the better," she said.
Staff writer Alan Panebaker can be reached at 482-3456 x 227 or apanebaker@dailytidings.com.
