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Downtown Association outlines holiday events: Christkindlmarkt, wine walk, Polar Express cocktail and new Thanksgiving weekend closure
Summary
The Downtown Association previewed fall and winter programming including a Christkindlmarkt with 20 vetted vendors, an autumn wine walk aiming for 500 attendees, a first-time Thanksgiving weekend event closing part of Sixth Avenue, a Polar Express cocktail promotion benefiting the food pantry, and the annual tree-lighting this week.
Phil, representing the Downtown Association, gave the board a detailed rundown of the association’s fall and winter calendar, highlighting several signature events and logistical notes.
Phil said the association is partnering with the city for the annual Christmas tree lighting and will place one of the newly built Christkindlmarkt stalls on the street to promote the event. "We are intending on having one of the Christmas market stalls we're building on the street on Thursday to help promote that event," Phil said. He described an autumn wine walk scheduled for Nov. 22 and said the association is aiming for about 500 participants.
Phil provided details about the Christkindlmarkt: the event will have about 20 vendors selected through a solicitation to avoid duplicative offerings, five outdoor stalls under construction and heated tents for the majority of vendors. Examples he gave included a chainsaw wood carver, a vendor selling Polish pastries, Christmas decorations and European glass ornaments; the market will also offer Glühwein and a souvenir cup for hot beverages.
The association plans a new multi-day Thanksgiving weekend event that will close a portion of Sixth Avenue (behind the association offices, from Elm Street South to Hickory) and keep the post office’s back entrance open for vehicle access. Phil asked for volunteers to help with bartending, food service, setup and cleanup for that three-day closure. He noted the closure is the first time anything on Sixth Avenue will be closed for a BID event and asked members to consider impacts to businesses on the street.
Phil also previewed a Polar Express cocktail promotion with downtown bars and restaurants running from Dec. 1 through the winter warm-up event (mid-January), with $2 from each specialty cocktail donated to the West Bend food pantry. He said souvenir cups and other promotional items were recently received and will be used at events.
Board members asked logistical questions about vendor selection, ticket sales and crowding. Phil reported roughly 315 tickets sold as of the previous day toward the 500-ticket wine-walk goal. Members discussed Small Business Saturday promotions and a downtown "find the pickle" scavenger activity across participating businesses.
Staff also reported on the tree-lighting preparations, the need to winterize the tree and installation of new ornaments and wreaths downtown; the board discussed a perceived lean in the tree and staff explained the apparent lean matches the plaza slope and that the tree is weighted internally and has stood for five years.
The board did not take formal action on the event programming; staff will continue to coordinate logistics with the Downtown Association and city departments.
