Events planned in downtown throughout holiday season
By Daily Press staff
In hopes of making downtown Santa Monica a holiday shopping destination, the decor purchased last year for several hundred thousand dollars is being erected on the Third Street Promenade.
Crews began setting up several fiberglass icebergs and faux evergreen trees on the outdoor mall on Monday. The decor is part of Winterlit, a five-week campaign now in its second season that is designed to draw shoppers here.
The Bayside District Corp., which manages downtown with City Hall, announced the program last year and officials said the holiday festivities and decor would cost about $400,000 for five years of use.
Last year, one of Bayside’s largest purchases was $331,865 for the holiday decor on the Promenade. Bayside also hired Ramsey Avery, an award-winning set designer who has done the art direction on two of Steven Spielberg films, to design the lighting display and Winterlit theme.
That theme includes towering 18-foot tall illuminated trees, iceberg sculptures, ice shards dangling from light poles and a 30-foot high canopy of stars and lights. Winterlit will light the Promenade every evening from sundown to 3 a.m. through the first week of January.
The festivities kick off on Nov. 28 — the busiest shopping day of the year. The day will be full of music, entertainment and celebrity guests. Not only will “Surfing Santa” be on hand with his elves who will arrive via electric sleigh, he’ll host a breakfast with 150 children. Pictures will be taken with Santa and proceeds will benefit the Westside Food Bank, an area nonprofit organization.
Radio station KOST 103.5 will host live entertainment from center stage on the Promenade starting at 2:30 p.m. There will be choruses, holiday carolers and other musicians. At 4 p.m., snow will fall at Santa Monica Place, thanks to a snow machine.
The events of the day culminate at sundown with a grand lighting ceremony on the Promenade by a celebrity guest, who hasn’t been announced yet. Last year, Jaime Lee Curtis did the honors.
Other activities are planned through December. For the first time, a series of holiday short movies will be shown every Tuesday on the upper deck of Santa Monica Place. A menorah will be installed on the Promenade beginning Hanukah weekend. A lighting of the menorah will happen in Santa Monica Place
Santa Monica Place will unveil its decor, which includes a 30-foot tree, ice elements and snowflakes, a snow fairy and a multi-colored light show which will create a shimmering snow effect on the exterior of the building.
The Macerich Company, owners of the mall, and the Bayside District Corp., have marketed jointly through mailers and other advertising to promote Winterlit.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 4, 2003. Read the original PDF.