A Christmas Miracle on Main Street

OTHELLO — The Othello Holiday Committee will once again be hosting its annual Christmas Miracle on Main Street celebration outside of Othello City Hall all day Dec. 2.

Committee Manager Tania Morelos, also Othello’s city clerk, explained the importance of the event. 

“It's our fifth year and we just felt like it's kind of a big number,” Morelos said. “Our event has grown a lot. It's been very successful and we've noticed it's probably one of the biggest events now in Othello aside from Fourth of July, and people are looking forward to it.”

Morelos said her favorite part of the celebration is the parade at 5 p.m. and the tree lighting that follows it.

“We want the parade to be the highlight of the event,” Morelos said. “The more lights the better, It's dark, I think that's just a fun part of it.”

    The Christmas tree stands outside Othello City Hall during the 2022 Christmas Miracle on Main Street event. This year’s tree lighting will follow the parade at 5:45 p.m. Dec. 2.
  

Activities start at 7 a.m. with a 5K walk or run to support Adams County Pet Rescue, followed by a holiday bazaar at Wahitis Elementary School. The vendors and activities at city hall begin at noon, including food vendors, games, face painting, crafts, performances and cookie decorating by The Cow Path Bakery at 1:30 p.m.

    Mr. and Mrs. Claus are towed along Main Street in Othello during the 2022 Christmas Miracle on Main Street event outside Othello City Hall. The event is hosted by the Othello Holiday Committee and will take place on Dec. 2 this year.
  

Morelos said the event originally started when she began to imagine a family Christmas event like the ones she attended as a child in Othello, and she decided to start an event up again in 2019, though she said the celebration has expanded in scale since the first year.

“I think there's a lot more support too, like from the business community,” Morelos said. “They want to see it be successful, so there are a lot of people putting donations towards it. The city council has also been approving more funds to help with the event.”

The event didn’t even slow down during the COVID-19 pandemic, Morelos said.

“That's the year that I noticed that It spread out outside of Othello,” she said. “People from surrounding towns were coming here because they wanted to do something and Othello was doing it, because it was 2020. So I was shocked. I thought it was going to be dead but it was not.”

Morelos said people from out of town still attend and participate in the event. 

“It's been a hit, to the point where I feel pressure,” she said. “I feel pressure like, ‘Oh man, what are we gonna do this time that's new or exciting?’”

    This year’s Christmas Miracle on Main Street theme is Disney, and the event will feature seven Disney characters available for pictures outside Othello City Hall from noon to 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 2.
  

This year’s theme is Disney, and the event will feature seven Disney characters in costume from noon to 3:30 p.m. available for pictures. 

“We just wanted to have more kids’ activities this year because of the theme and because we felt like we received a lot of donations,” Morelos said. “We still had a lot of money left over from last year. We wanted to provide more free activities for them to keep them here and make sure that our vendors are successful too.”

Other activities will include performances by Dance Sette, the Othello High School choir and Oband and the Othello Choral Society during the tree lighting at 5:45 p.m. There will also be a show by local children’s entertainer Kimberly Sanders at 2:30 p.m.

“In her show, she's going to create a snowman and decorate him with magic tricks, and she's going to use the music from Frozen,” Morelos said. “We will have a stage and she will call up kids to help volunteer to build a snowman.”

The meaning of Christmas is a focus of the celebration, Morelos said. 

“The reason we chose to be a nonprofit and be our own group is because we wanted to be able to get spiritual if we wanted to, bring in the true meaning of Christmas,” Morelos said.

There is one portion of the event that the city pays for itself, which is the fireworks show, Morelos said. 

Also at the event will be a Christmas play and celebration by Emmanuel Church.

“They're gonna sing some songs in English and Spanish, by the choir, and in the middle, they will do a Biblical reading by the pastor. It'll be bilingual,” Morelos said. “During that, they'll have Mary and Joseph come up to the stage, and during the second song, they will have the wise men and shepherds come to worship Jesus.”

Morelos elaborated on the committee’s motivation for putting on the event. 

“A lot of the community members that are in this committee are also involved in the Chamber (of Commerce), so we kind of just intermingle,” Morelos said. “It's just a lot of us that kind of have a lot of energy and want to see more for the community.”

Gabriel Davis may be reached at gdavis@columbiabasinherald.com. Download the Columbia Basin Herald app on iOS and Android.

    A group of kids walks into Othello City Hall during the 2022 Christmas Miracle on Main Street celebration. The City of Othello helps fund the event and fully pays for the annual fireworks display.
  

Schedule of Dec. 2 Activities

7 a.m.-1 p.m. — Run, Run, Rudolph 5K Fundraiser for ACPR

10 a.m.-3 p.m. — Holiday Bazaar at Wahitis Elementary

Noon to 7 p.m. — Food Vendors at City Hall

Noon to 7 p.m.  — Coat Drive at City Hall

Noon to 4 p.m. — Face Painting

Noon to 3:30 p.m. — Pictures with Mickey and the Gang

Noon to 3 p.m. — Stocking Decorating by high school groups

Noon to 2 p.m. — Performances by the Dance Sette, OHS Choir and OHS Band

12:30-2 p.m. — Ornament Making by Desert Rose

1:30-3:30 p.m. — Cookie Decorating by The Cow Path Bakery

2 p.m. — Christmas Skit by Emmanuel Church

2:30 p.m. — Snowflakes & Snowman Holiday Show followed by Balloons for Youth by Kimberly Sanders

5 p.m. — Parade on Main Street

5:45 p.m. — Christmas Tree Lighting at City Hall with a performance by the Othello Choral Society

7 p.m. — Fireworks at Lions Park