USPS Publication Number 16300
T h is C o m mu n i t y N ewsp a p er is a pu bl ica t ion of E sca m bia-S a n t a Rosa B a r Assoc ia t ion
Se r v i ng t he Fi r st Jud icial Ci rcu it
Section A, Page 1
Vol. 19, No. 45
Visit The Summation Weekly Online: www.summationweekly.com
November 20, 2019
1 Section, 10 Pages
WINTERFESTIVITIES TAKE OVER DOWNTOWN
By Will Isern
F
or more than 20 years, Pensacolians have looked to Winterfest as the official start to the holiday season. More than just an event series that transforms downtown into a holiday wonderland, Winterfest is a Pensacola tradition. This year, Winterfest is shaping up to be bigger and better than ever, organizers said.
Winterfest began in 1998 as a neighborhood holiday party and has grown into a month-long event series that takes over downtown Pensacola and includes trolley rides, the Elf Parade, visits with Santa, live performances of classic holiday stories and much more. Winterfest kicks off this year with a “Welcome Santa” parade at the Nov. 22 Gallery Night. The Elf Parade on Nov. 29 also serves as the beginning of the First City Festival of Lights, which illuminates Palafox Street with thousands of Christmas lights for the entire holiday season and draws scores of visitors downtown from across the city and around the region. Winterfest has been expanding in recent years and now includes train rides through downtown on the Winterfest Express and a popular fireworks display as part of the opening ceremony at the end of the Elf Parade.
Fireworks are on the schedule again this year, as are the LEGO Festival on Dec. 7, Santa’s Puppy Party on Dec. 8 and Papa Noel’s Cajun Gumbo Festival on the 14th, among others. This year will also see a living nativity scene with singing angles and choir performances by church and school groups on the steps of the Artel Gallery. Winterfest President Denise Daughtry said the festival is about providing value and holiday fun for families and visitors in downtown Pensacola. Coordinating the many parts of Winterfest each year, she said, takes a lot of work but is made worthwhile when she sees families enjoying the holiday spirit in Pensacola. “Years ago we had a neighborhood Christmas party that was just something fun we decided to do and from there’s it’s really turned into something,” Daughtry said. Daughtry and her small team work year-round to promote and organize
Winterfest and have managed over the years to garner national recognition for Pensacola from national outlets like Expedia and Southern Living. The event is supported with grant funding by Visit Pensacola. Surveys conducted in recent years estimated that nearly 30,000 people attend Winterfest over the course of the month, and many of those were out of town visitors who came to Pensacola specifically for the event. It was estimated that attendees spend over $800,000 in Escambia County, making Winterfest a valuable economic booster in the usually-slow “shoulder season” when crowds have left the beaches and returned north. Winterefest’s main attraction is its flagship performance trolley tours, which transport guests through the streets of downtown to live-action holiday scenes from classic holiday films and stories including “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” “How The Grinch Stole Christmas,” “The Polar Express” and others. This year will see the introduction of a new stop featuring characters from the 90s classic “Home Alone.”
WE’RE SOCIAL
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I THINK THERE’S REALLY SOMETHING FOR PEOPLE OF ALL AGES, AND I THINK SOMETHING THAT SETS US APART IS THAT THERE ARE ACTUAL LIVE PEOPLE ENTERTAINING YOU.” - DENISE DAUGHTRY
“I think there’s really something for people of all ages, and I think something that sets us apart is that there are actual live people entertaining you,” Daughtry said. “It makes a difference.” For more information on Winterfest visit PensacolaWinterfest.org.
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