There’s a whole lot of fun planned Saturday at the 27th annual Winterfest holiday celebration in downtown Kent and at Kent Station.
The activities include everything from a Santa Claus arrival parade, an all-you-can-eat breakfast, a Kids and Kritters walk, a carousel and horse-drawn carriage rides, along with choirs and bands.
All of those activities will lead up to the grand finale of Winterfest – the 5:30 p.m. lighting of a 30-foot Christmas tree at Town Square Plaza, Second Avenue and Harrison Street.
“We’ll put 7,000 lights on the tree,” said Bill Westcott, volunteer festival director from the Kent Lions Club. “We will have 20,000 lights in the park total.”
Lights will come on across the plaza synchronized to computer-generated music for a 5-minute show.
“Everyone was blown away last year,” Westcott said of the first tree-lighting ceremony at Town Square Plaza. “There was a lot of word of mouth after the show last year and when people heard about it they were sorry they missed it.”
The light show expands this year to six trees-along Smith Street and five trees along Second Avenue next to the plaza. Crews will set up extra trees at the plaza to be lighted as well. They also will put lights on the park’s restroom building.
“We can turn on all of the lights at once or flutter them,” Westcott said.
Maple Valley residents Jeff and Wendy Murphy, and their daughters Hailey and Summer, donated the 30-foot fir tree for Winterfest from their yard.
Winterfest opens at 8 a.m. Saturday with a new addition. The Kent AM Kiwanis Club will host an all-you-can-eat breakfast from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Maggie’s on Meeker, 307 W. Meeker Street.
The breakfast includes pancakes, side of sausage and choice of coffee or orange juice. The cost is $10 for adults, $5 for ages 60 and older, $5 for children ages 5-12, and free for children younger than 5.
The Holly Jolly 1-Mile Kids and Kritters Walk starts at 11 a.m. at the Kent Station Plaza and winds through downtown before ending at the Town Square Plaza.
People who want to pick up gifts can check out the Kent Parks Holiday Bazaar from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Kent Commons, 525 Fourth Ave. N. Admission is $1. Children ages 12 and younger get in for free.
Nearly 100 vendors will sell items at the bazaar, ranging from pottery to handmade soaps to gourmet foods.
The Santa Parade starts 4:30 p.m. at Fourth Avenue and Ramsay Street, with a stop at the Kent Station Santa House, where Mayor Suzette Cooke will present Santa with a key to the city. After the key ceremony, the parade continues to Town Square Plaza.
Besides Santa, the parade includes Cooke, the Miss Cornucopia float, a drum and bugle corps band and a Kent fire truck.
“It’s a mini-parade,” Westcott said. “People should not expect a Macy’s parade. But we are looking to expand it next year.”
Residents are asked to bring a nonperishable food item to Winterfest to donate to the Kent Food Bank. They can drop off items at collection receptacles throughout the downtown area. Canned fruits or vegetables, pasta, stuffing mix, cake mixes, peanut butter and tuna are among the items that can be donated.
“People do not have to be there all day,” Westcott said about tips for those who have never attended Winterfest. “If they are there between 4:30 and 6:30 p.m., they will catch almost everything from the parade and tree lighting as well as choirs and bands.”
The Kent Reporter is a sponsor of Winterfest.
For more information, go to www.kentwinterfest.com or call the Kent Downtown Partnership at 253-859-6976.
Kent Winterfest Dec. 5
• 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. – All-you-can-eat pancake breakfast at Maggie’s on Meeker
• 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Holiday Parks Bazaar at Kent Commons
• 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. – PediCab rides
• 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. – Merchants open for shopping and dining in downtown Kent and at Kent Station (to 9 p.m.)
• 11 a.m. – Holly Jolly 1-mile Kids & Kritters Walk with Mayor Suzette Cooke and Kent4Health
• 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. – Morford Family Holiday Carousel
• 11:30 a.m. – Kent-Meridian jazz band, Town Plaza
• 12-2 p.m. – Meet the Kent Fire Department, Second & Meeker
• 1-5 p.m. – Horse-drawn carriage rides
• 3-5 p.m. – SilverBells Carolers rove through historic downtown Kent
• 4 p.m. – Holiday reading for kids at Green River Community College (Kent Station)
• 4:30 p.m. – Kent Lions’ parade, Santa’s arrival, 7-foot stocking giveaway
• 4:45 p.m. – K-M jazz choir, Allegro Performing Arts, Town Plaza
• 5:30 p.m. – Christmas tree lighting, Town Plaza
For more information, go to www.kentwinterfest.com or call the Kent Downtown Partnership at 253-859-6976.
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