downtown Santa Monica
By Daily Press staff
THIRD STREET — It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
Or something to that effect. Crews on Monday began erecting a new holiday décor theme that replaces the arctic landscape of years past on the outdoor mall.
For the last three years, the Promenade has been adorned with several fiberglass icebergs and faux evergreen trees, which were purchased in 2002 for about $400,000. Officials from the Bayside District Corp., which manages downtown Santa Monica with City Hall, estimated they would get three to five years of use out of the decor.
This year, they’ve refurbished the decor for about $66,000, hoping they’ll get another three years out of it.
This year, they’ve refurbished the decor for about $66,000, hoping they’ll get another three years out of it.
Designer Daniel Lucas of Scenario Design, with the help of painters, effects experts and project leader Jameel Haiat — a veteran of the Macy’s Christmas Day Parade — have been hired to oversee the decorating.
The new design includes scenes of green trees, retro, oversized light bulbs, candy canes and woodland creatures. For the past few months, a crew of seven designers has worked on display logistics. A special effects person was brought in to engineer complicated wiring of the lighting elements.
“Third Street is such an eclectic, fun and up-beat environment that I wanted to warm up the scenery and take people to a place of fond memories of Christmas,” Lucas said. “I hope the décor will catch people off guard, and bring a smile to their faces.”
The decor is part of Winterlit, a five-week campaign now in its fourth season that is designed to draw shoppers here. Winterlit will light the Promenade every evening from sundown to 3 a.m. through the first week of January.
Bayside two years ago hired Ramsey Avery, an award-winning set designer who has done the art direction on two of Steven Spielberg’s films, to design the lighting display and Winterlit theme.
That theme included towering 18-foot tall illuminated trees, iceberg sculptures, ice shards dangling from light poles and a 30-foot high canopy of stars and lights. The holiday festivities on the Promenade have changed from previous years. Usually the kick-off is the day after Thanksgiving, complete with a lighting ceremony, celebrities and holiday music. But officials have decided to make Dec. 10 the celebration this year so Santa Monica won’t be competing with other shopping destinations which have larger budgets for their festivities.
However, Winterlit will kick off Nov. 19 with a “Breakfast with Santa” event at Santa Monica Place from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Other Winterlit activities include the raffle of a $1,000 shopping spree at 1 p.m. on Nov. 22 at the Third Street Promenade; Friends and Family VIP discount shopping event and Beauty Lounge at Santa Monica Place from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Dec. 4 (discounts also available at participating retailers at the Promenade and advance tickets are required); Pet Nights with Santa from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Dec. 5 and 12; a model search at Santa Monica Place from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 6; a fashion show on the Promenade at 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 11, and a children’s event with snow, pony rides and petting zoo on the Promenade from noon to 4 p.m. on Dec. 10.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 15, 2005. Read the original PDF.