Festival Plaza on 6th Street South, where the Heart of our Holidays will take place. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Skating rink, horse carriages, “local Black Friday” part of first-ever Heart of the Holidays in Lethbridge

Nov 8, 2019 | 12:39 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The Heart of the Holidays events will soon be getting underway in downtown Lethbridge.

It is an opportunity to lift up holiday spirits in the community through a variety of activities.

Downtown BRZ Executive Director Ted Stilson one of the things he is most looking forward to is the outdoor skating rink.

“We’re going to have a close to 1,000 square foot synthetic ice surface out on Festival Square right out on 6th Street, so people can come and skate, groups can come and skate. We’re going to be partnering with a number of different businesses to provide hot chocolate, popcorn, those types of things.”

The skating rink is set to open on Friday, November 15th at 10:00 am. It will be free and will run 24/7 until the evening of Monday, November 25th and will return on December 7th and 14th from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm.

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Urban Revitalization Manager with the City of Lethbridge Andrew Malcolm says, with so many people going to the downtown core for the Heart of the Holidays, it is also a great business opportunity.

“Local businesses in the downtown, I think, would be unanimous in that the farmer’s market days are the best days downtown and that’s when it’s a festival space, not a parking space. We’re excited to try this out and replace a few parking stalls with some positive activity.”

The first major retail event as part of this is the Downtown Holiday Market.

On November 23rd from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm at CASA, local shops will be able to show off what they have to offer in one convenient location. Santa will be on hand.

Then, on December 6th and 7th, Plaid Days kicks off as a sort of a Black Friday for local companies.

“A lot of our downtown businesses are local businesses and they don’t have the same opportunities as some of those big box stores as staying open as long, so it’s really important, especially in the holiday season, to realize that they need everyone to participate in holiday shopping in their stores,” says Downtown BRZ Marketing Coordinator Tasha Hogg.

This will also be the first year that horse carriage rides will be offered in the downtown area.

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