Over 26,000 lights and hundreds of ornaments adorned the 38-foot Valparaiso tree at the annual Winterfest. Downtown Valpo was lit like no other Saturday, November 25 for Valpo’s annual Winterfest and Tree Lighting Ceremony in Center Park Plaza. The cold fall air didn’t put a damper on tonight’s festivities as hundreds of bundled up Region locals came out for the holiday season fun.
From Valparaiso High School carolers, pictures with Santa, ice rink performances and more, there was tons of fun and activities for the whole family to enjoy. Hundreds of people could enjoy food vendors this year such as: Traveling Tom’s Coffee, German Roasted Nuts and Remschneider Kettle Corn.
Valparaiso Parks and Recreation Director of Special Events Christina Darr loves working for Valpo Parks and Rec and looks forward to the tree lighting each year because of how many people come out and how much it's grown over the past three years she has been with the Parks and Rec Department.
“I think this is very important for our community. This park is a great way to bring people together,” Darr said. “The tree lighting is a really important part of the season and people look forward to it every year.”
In Darr’s three years working within the department, she has seen the event grow and continues to push the idea of expansion forward.
“When I started, it was mostly the same thing, but we were able to add on some more fun things to do this year,” Darr said. “We've added some food vendors and we have some snacks and hot drinks here for sale and that has been another way that we've been able to grow things a little bit.”
Director of Valparaiso Parks Kevin Nuppnau loves how many people come out to the park, not only as a way to bring the community together but to bring business to local favorites, he looks at it as an opportunity to share what Valpo has to offer outside events and invites all to shop and eat downtown.
“This is the kickoff to the holiday season, so it brings people from all over downtown to celebrate the downtown businesses, hopefully seeing a lot of people inside their doors afterwards,” Nuppau said. “It's always a fun event for myself and our staff. We love being able to help the community put this on and make their experience each year memorable so they will continue to come back.”
With Christmas joy spread all around Center Plaza, the night ended with Mayor Matt Murphy thanking his community, business and participating organizations for making Winterfest what it has come to be. He also awarded the third annual Good Neighbor Award to Kevin Cornett for all he has done for Valparaiso.
Valparaiso Parks and Recreations would like to give a special shout out to the sponsors of tonight's event: Strack & Van Til’s, Lake Cable, General Insurance Services, and 1st Source Bank. Another appreciative shout to the sponsors who help decorate the plaza with donating decorations: Von Tobel, 1st Source Bank, The Linc, The Allure Wedding & Event Center and Spare Room Studios for the Santa pictures backdrop. The annual tree lighting ceremony and Winterfest get bigger and better each year. Valpo Parks and Rec would like you to come out next year to help them kickoff the holiday season of 2024.
To learn more about events happening in Valparaiso Parks you can visit: https://www.valpoparks.org/506/Get-Involved.
