Miracle on Main Street ushers in Ephrata holidays

Plethora of holiday activities for annual celebration

EPHRATA - When all's said and done with Ephrata's Miracle on Main Street Christmas celebration, Suzanne Dahl hopes success continues.

So says the executive director of the Ephrata Chamber of Commerce as she anticipated the town's annual event.

"Last year, downtown business was up quite a bit, it was one of the larger attended holiday events we've had," Dahl said. "We're hoping to build on our success from last year and make it even more successful this year."

The event kicks off Saturday at 8 a.m. with the American Legion Auxiliary Art Semro Unit 28 Craft Bazaar, held at the American Legion, located at 276 Eighth Ave. N.W., along with the annual Kiwanis Garage Sale.

Festivities continue at 10 a.m. with the roughly 1.9-mile second annual Jingle Bell Run held in downtown Ephrata and a Hometown Goodness dessert cooking contest at Hometown TV and Appliance.

The contest includes three different divisions and was revamped from mint recipes to include all dessert recipes. Registration must be turned in by Nov. 28. Entry forms may be picked up at Hometown TV and Appliance, located at 142 Basin St. N.W., or at the chamber office. Children aged 8 to 12 and 13 to 19 are encouraged to enter the contest, said Sue Palmer, owner of Hometown TV and Appliance. There is also an adult division, from ages 20 and up.

Call 509-754-0420 for more information about the cooking competition.

Local businesses and organizations will be running holidays sales in conjunction with the celebration.

Many free youth activities are being held in the Ephrata Recreation Center, located at 112 Basin St., along with a visit from Santa Claus and photo opportunities. Lunch and other goods will be available in the fireside room.

"We had a good turnout last year, we had almost 300 kids through there," Dahl said. "And the activities are free to the kids with the exclusion of the picture of Santa, which is still under $5, which makes it affordable for pretty much everybody."

Musical performances including the Basinaires run from noon to 3 p.m. at Basaltz Restaurant.

Laurie Walkers' Ballet Students perform select sets from "The Nutcracker" and "Die Puppenfee" in the Ephrata Performing Arts Center located at Ephrata High School.

The lighted Christmas parade starts at 5 p.m., followed by a lighting ceremony at Sun Basin Plaza.

Warming barrels will be available downtown.

A fireworks presentation brings the evening to a close.

Dahl said the American Legion's little train will make stops throughout town from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. or 4 p.m.

"They can take people at the craft bazaar to the ERC or to the Rock Park, back and forth, and they're going to be running all day, transporting," she said.

The event is a good way to bring the Ephrata community together, Dahl said.

"It's just to bring everybody together in the spirit of Christmas, which that means different things to different people," she said. "Basically, that means coming and being together to celebrate the holidays. A kick-off to that."

For more information, call the chamber office at 509-754-4656.