Something to Look Forward To Lights of Lake Stevens and Winterfest rally a cheerful spirit

By Ellen Hiatt

Theappetite for good cheer is evident in Lake Stevens, and it’s community-wide. From the Lights of Lake Stevens to the city’s Winterfest, in its fifth year, there is plenty of joy to go around.

Either before touring the Lights of Lake Stevens or after, when the kids are worn out and looking for some hot cocoa to warm their bellies and spirits, Biscuit & Bean is the place to go. Only on the evening of Winterfest, Dec. 3 (lakestevenswa.gov/Calendar.aspx?EID=2229), do they stay open late (4:00-7:00 p.m.), as a kick-off event for the Lights of Lake Stevens, and serve up their full menu along with cocoa and other treats.

“People are just so happy it’s the holidays,” said manager Christina Stafford. “It’s definitely a fun night for us here, for sure.”

The Lake Stevens Holiday Maker Fair (formerly known as the Dickens Fair) will also be held on Saturday, Dec. 3 (10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Cavelero Mid High School). With more than 100 craft vendors selling handmade goods, it’s an opportunity to jump start your holiday shopping, and enjoy it with live music and dance performances. Bring a non-perishable food item or donation for the Lake Stevens Community Food Bank

The Greater Lake Stevens Chamber of Commerce hosts the holiday lighting contest, Lights of Lake Stevens, that is the cherry on top of the Lake Stevens holiday season. It begins with Winterfest and runs all the way through the end of the year. An interactive map on their Facebook page (fb.com/lightsoflakestevens) is your guide to find all the locations.

Families from near and far kick off the holidays here, arriving with pajama-clad kids packed into cars, stopping first at a “Sleigh Stop,” held on the final Saturday of the annual contest (Dec. 17 for 2022). Reshal Ploeger, past president of the Lake Stevens Rotary Club, said it’s great fun to watch the cars pull up, kids excited to receive candy and a toy before driving off to witness all the decorated houses and businesses. Other non-profits that are scheduled to participate in the Sleigh Stops are the Lake Stevens Food Bank and the Lake Stevens Education Foundation.

For the past eight years or so, Chris Burnett has been decorating his Lake Stevens home with holiday lights, piping out music themed and timed to the beat. It’s become a destination for so many, including people who ride their bicycles all the way from Granite Falls, he said.

The icing on the holiday cake is the latest and greatest addition to his display: the snow machine, interactive for every visitor to create snow with a foot pump. Oh, the glory of it all! It’s like being in the middle of your own personal snow globe!

Every year, Burnett says, he debates creating the display. Yet, every year, it gets bigger and bigger.

“Either I don’t do it at all, or I go big,” he said. Besides, people from all around town ask him every year if he’s going to do the display again.

“I’m kinda roped into it now!” he said. “But everybody loves it. They come back every year.”

Like Burnett’s home, Scott and Maria Corley’s split level has been a local holiday staple long before the contest. The Corleys can’t wait to decorate for the holidays. In fact, they decorate for just about every holiday – all with inflatables. Easter, Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, 4th of July – you name it – there is something to bring fun to the neighborhood year-round.

Maria runs a daycare, so it’s a natural fit for the fun environment. But they really do it for themselves. They’ve decorated with inflatables at every home they’ve owned, whether in Marysville, Arlington, or the San Juan Islands. Lake Stevens is just lucky enough to have them after their collection has grown.

Christmas is by far the biggest display. With well over 40 inflatables, the couple had to expand into their neighbor’s side yard, with permission of course.

“If he sells, we’ll have to tell the buyers that we need to put our inflatables there,” Scott said.

Maria laughed when she shared that the enormous display was once an embarrassment to their youngest son, whose classmates on the bus puzzled at the unusual sight.

The same son, now grown, helps his parents install them every season.

“It’s all inflatables and lights for everybody driving by and the kids,” Scott said. “It’s the best time of year.”