Port welcomes the holidays with festivities on Saturday

Port Washington will officially kick off the holiday season on Saturday with Christmas on the Corner, the lighting of the city’s Christmas tree, the holiday parade and fireworks.

“We have such an idyllic downtown for this,” Kristina Tadeo, executive director of the event sponsor, Port Main Street Inc., said. “Christmas on the Corner is such a traditional, beautiful, magical event. With the trees lit up, the church lit up — you feel like you’re in a Hallmark movie. It has all the feelings you associate with the season.

“It’s such a fun community event. This showcases our historic downtown as the community hub.”

Christmas on the Corner, which features special sales and events at downtown shops, restaurants and bars, runs from 3 to 6 p.m. throughout downtown.

Family Promise will collect toys for its toy drive at Heart of the Harbor, and Tello’s will have a live Nativity at the plaza as well.

This year, Main Street is bringing back the horse and carriage rides throughout downtown from 3 to 5:30 p.m. The rides are free, and the pickup and drop off site will be at the corner of Main and Wisconsin streets, outside Moonlight Tavern.

There will be live reindeer on Main Street west of Franklin Street, courtesy of Tundraland Home Improvements, and Lake Financial will host a family zone, complete with outdoor furniture and a fire pit where people can make s’mores, on Main Street next to the reindeer. 

Cookie decorating will be done at Daily Baking, and ornaments can be decorated at Best Self Counseling, 127 N. Franklin St.

There will also be crafts at the Purple Turtle, Candid Form Boutique and Navigate Wellness, where a winter photo backdrop will be posted.

Santa will be at Port Washington State Bank’s new community room on East Washington Street to listen to children’s wish lists and pose for photos from 3 to 5:45 p.m.

Vines to Cellar will have mulled wine and provide opportunities for children to write their letters to Santa. Letter-writing opportunities will also be at John’s Pizzeria and Locally Inspired, where children may also decorate holiday cards.

A North Pole post box will be at both Locally Inspired and the Port Post Office.

Halo Artisan Skin Care will have a hot cocoa bar, and Associated Bank will have a community gingerbread house in its lobby that children can help decorate. Ugly Mugs in Belgium will provide beverages.

One Wag will have special dog treats, and there will be carolers from Port Washington High School strolling on Franklin Street.

The high school band will perform at 4:30 p.m. in the grassy area at the corner of Franklin and Pier streets, where Frankie’s Ice Cream is located in summer.

The Elf on the Shelf scavenger hunt will kick off at Christmas on the Corner and continue through Dec. 15.

Tadeo noted that a map with the locations of the various events will be available at the Main Street table on the corner of Main and Franklin streets, outside Cozy Corner.

Main Street will also be selling its holiday scratch off cards there.

As Christmas on the Corner winds down at 6 p.m., the carolers will walk north on Franklin Street to the base of St. Mary’s Hill for the tree lighting. The winner of the Port Washington Parks and Recreation Department’s coloring contest will press the button to light the tree and the crowd will sing “O Christmas Tree.”

“It’s one of my favorite parts of the event,” Tadeo said.

The Christmas parade, sponsored by Kohler Credit Union, will then wind its way through downtown at 6:15 p.m. This year’s theme is “Gnome for the Holidays.”

Port Washington-Saukville School District teachers will collect funds for the Port Washington and Saukville Food Pantries as they march in the parade.

Immediately after the parade, fireworks sponsored by Prairie’s Edge and Black Cap Halcyon will be shot off from Coal Dock Park.