Christmas on Main Street to hit Thompson Falls
UPDATES: Thompson Falls' Christmas on Main Street parade as well as the Christmas Concert at the Rex Theatre has been postponed until Wednesday due to the cold, harsh weather. The parade will now take place at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11 and the musical performances will be at 5:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. the same day.
The Sanders County Christmas Arts and Craft Fair as well as the Gingerbread contest will still run as originally scheduled on Saturday.
THOMPSON FALLS – This weekend the county seat will turn into a scene from a Christmas movie, providing holiday entertainment for anyone and everyone who shows up.
Christmas on Main Street will hit Thompson Falls with a variety of other events on Saturday, December 7 and so far the day is packed full of events.
To kick off the day, the Sanders County Christmas Arts and Craft Fair will begin at 10 a.m. and run to 4 p.m. The arts and crafts fair will fill both the Thompson Falls High School gym and the community center. This year the event has over 60 vendors – a number that rivals last year.
Lynn Bierwagon is spearheading the event for her first time and so far she said everything has gone smoothly, with much thanks to the previous organizer Katrina Campbell.
“Katrina did an excellent job of organizing everything to make my job a lot easier,” said Bierwagon.
Vendors at the event will donate 10 percent of their sales to the Sanders County Sheriff’s Relief Fund and the money will go to buy gifts for children in need.
“The money will be used to fill gaps in what they don’t gain from the Tree of Hearts,” Bierwagon explained.
Santa Claus will be on scene from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will be handing out up to 500 candy canes for children who wish to see him. A photographer will also be on site to take pictures of the kids with Santa.
A few changes will be seen at this year market with the most significant including new vendors at the fair.
“We probably have 15 to 20 new vendors,” said Bierwagon.
Feedback from many of the community members stressed they wanted a few different products so a larger variety was presented.
Along with the new vendors, different food will be served in the concession stands this year.
Although the bazaar and the Christmas festivities are separate events, they are coordinated at the same time to draw in a larger group of people.
The annual Gingerbread contest will once again fill the walls of the Old Jail Museum.
Put on by the Sanders County Historical Society, it is a way for the organization to say thank you to the surrounding community. The event, in its 16th year, invites the public to come vote on the entries between noon and 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Another popular event of the evening features Christmas Music at the Rex. Two 45-minute performances are available and people can either chose to attend at 5:15 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.
The program is free to the public and is part of the Christmas on Main Street celebration.
According to the information listed on the Thompson Falls Chamber website, this year’s show will feature traditional Christmas music from a handful of different local performers including Jason Logan, the Klauss Family and the Bronners with Donna Curry, among others.
The parade will run in between the two showings and will stretch down the Main Street of Thompson Falls.
The Meris Prayer Group will provide refreshments at 5:30 p.m., offering hotdogs, chili and hot drinks. With the parade starting an hour later at 6:30 p.m.
The entire day is aimed at putting the local communities into the mindset for the holiday season – a season of cheer.