The La Mesa Village Association is gearing up for its 9th annual Holiday in the Village on Dec. 14 from noon to 9 p.m. from Spring Street to 4th Street. This event is getting a “refresh” this year with some new activities for the community to enjoy.
The LMVA is adding new experiences, including skating on a synthetic ice rink, an “All White Wonderland” kids area filled with inflatable bounce houses, Mrs. Claus Reading Nook where families can enjoy listening to holiday themed stories, a Gingerbread House pho¬to booth, miniature golf and a fun-themed Elf Adventure Trail where guests can seek out elves sprinkled throughout local businesses and can enter to win one of the elves.
La Mesa Village Association Holiday in the Village co-chairs Pam Rader and Michelle Huey said that they are both excited about this year’s event. Rader said they have changed the event this year because they want to give back to the community, and with a great response from sponsors, all activities at Holiday in the Village are free.
“This is our way of giving back to the community. They support us year-round,” said Rader. “At Mrs. Claus Reading Nook she will be telling stories all day from 1-8 p.m. We have a miniature golf course with a holiday theme. Our Elf Adventure Trail will scatter 12 elves throughout the event. Kids will come and pick up a card, then they come back to the Info Booth, give us their information identifying where all the elves are. Elves will be placed in business door fronts, so the kids can go find the elf and write down the business name. Then from 4-8 p.m. we will have drawings, giving away six elves.”
Traditional favorites returning to the Holiday in the Village event include the cherished “Selfies with Santa,” strolling carolers, holiday performances by local schools, clubs and more, fun-themed holiday stilt walkers – perfect for selfies, and an “Elf Yourself” station where guests can outfit themselves in whimsical elf ears, and three fire pits for people to sit, relax, and enjoy the evening.
Rader said the “Selfies with Santa” is going to have a Mrs. Claus this year.
“The other thing we are doing which has not been done in years, is we are working with vendors to have a shopping event for the kids. An area will be set aside where kids 10 years old and younger can go purchase things for the family at an inexpensive price. And we are working with retail businesses to do the same thing,’ said Rader.
Huey said with participating retailers, the LMVA website will be updated to include the latest information, and participating retailers will have signs showing they are participating in the youth shopping event.
Rader said she is most excited about the change and giving back to the community, doing something new and different for the community. She said Village businesses are extremely receptive to the changes.
“The business owners are really excited,” said Huey. “It is a great event. It brings many people down to The Village. Especially hearing that all the activations are free, that is also something that the businesses can promote. Pam did a really good job on how many food vendors we have, and the different types of vendors that we have because we also want people to shop in our businesses, eat and drink at our restaurants and cafes. So, there is not going to be a ton of food offered by vendors because we want to encourage people to eat and shop locally as well.”
Rader said there will be food vendors and trucks, but they did not bring in anyone that would compete with the brick-and-mortar restaurants.
“We do have a variety of vendors. We have retail, arts and crafts. But we have also limited those to not having a lot of the same thing. We have been extremely conscious of what vendors we are bringing in. Vendors have everything from jewelry, ornaments, body oils, candles, wool socks and gloves. We also have a couple of vendors selling pet products. It is a great variety. I think the community and know that the businesses are excited about the changes we are bringing,” said Rader.
Huey said carpooling, Lyft, Uber, and public transportation are good options for this event, but it is not like Oktoberfest where the parking lots are shut down. There will be parking available at Lemon Avenue, Palm Avenue, Allison Avenue, Date Avenue parking lots, plus there are non-metered parking on many of these streets. Just be prepared to walk.
