Magical holiday season in the new downtown SLC
This will be a truly magical season in downtown Salt Lake City.
Danica Farley with the downtown alliance says there is no more construction that will get in your way, but there are 5,000 new parking spaces to help you take part in the sights and sounds of the holidays downtown.
Park for free for up to two hours at meters, enjoy holiday shopping and be among the first to see the spectacular lighting of downtown SLC and Temple Square.
Lights On!
The Downtown Alliance presents Salt Lake City's annual Lights On! celebration at Gallivan Plaza, Friday, Nov. 25 from 4:45-6 p.m. The event will feature Mayor Becker, Kurt Bestor, Santa Claus, Alison Baver (U.S. Olympic short track speed skater), One Voice Children's Choir and elves on stilts.
More than 19 miles of strands of LED lights will decorate downtown streets. There are nearly one million bulbs, from Temple Square to The Gateway to Gallivan Plaza. Ute Alley will sparkle red and white on State Street between 400 South and South Temple. And, all the energy usage for this season is offset by wind power thanks to the Blue Sky program.
Old World Christmas Market!
The Old World Christmas Market-in its fourth year-opens at the Grand Hall in The Gateway, Friday, November 25-Saturday, December 3 (11 a.m. to 9 p.m., closed Sunday).
Visitors can shop for one of a kind, handmade items by local artisans and crafters (many of them from the Downtown Farmers Market) for holiday gift giving. There will be food vendors offering traditional flavors of the season including baked goods, traditional German food, kettle corn, candied nuts, spiced cider, and hot chocolate as well as specialty packaged food items.
The festive atmosphere at the Old World Christmas Market is modeled after the Christmas Markets of Europe. A yearly event with origins in Germany as early as the 1300's, the Old World Christmas Market is reminiscent of days past.
Holiday Window Wonderland Contest
Registered businesses will decorate their store fronts for the holidays to be ready for the public to vote on December 1st. Online voting will be open to the public from December 1st through December 25th at www.downtownslc.org Voters will be entered to win a prize worth $200 from participating downtown merchants. The business with the most votes will be announced the last week of December.
The new vision for Salt Lake City encompasses ideas large and small, bold and restrained - for shaping downtown's future. 