It truly is the most wonderful time of the year in Galveston as our downtown comes alive with holiday festivals and events.
I’ve had an office in The Strand for five years and each holiday season downtown is more spectacular than the previous one. This year is no exception with the return of some old favorites and some new, never-been seen events for Galveston. Many have been organized by the Downtown Alliance and they run from Thanksgiving right through to the New Year.
First up, Christmas in Downtown kicks off at Saengarfest Park on November 25th from 6 pm with performances from a troupe of Chinese acrobats and then the first lighting of the Lanterns and Lights. Holiday lights are always such a beacon of the season and you’ll be able to enjoy the Lanterns & Lights downtown right through until January 2nd.
Another holiday must is visiting with Santa. Every week from Thanksgiving to Christmas families will be able to see Santa at Saengarfest Park. One of the highlights of this favorite is a never-been seen before giant interactive snow globe. Visitors can actually walk inside the snow globe which will be a wonderful backdrop for holiday photo fun and social media selfies!
A popular returning event is Sip and Stroll which sees stores from Postoffice to the Strand offering refreshments, specials and giftwrapping to help make your holiday shopping more enjoyable.
As a former president of the Galveston Historical Foundation it would be remiss of me not to mention our very own world famous Victorian Holiday Festival – Dickens on the Strand that is packed full of fun from December 1st to December 3rd. This is an amazing event and this year am happy to once again be a financial sponsor.
There is more to the holiday season downtown than Victorian costumes, holiday lanterns and giant snow globes. We want you to come and enjoy downtown with your families and friends while you are here we’d love you to buy a meal, enjoy a drink and do some Christmas shopping.
Galveston has an abundance of options when it comes to local attractions and your downtown businesses rely on you to support us. Like many of my neighbors, I employ local people in my real estate business, I use local contractors and I give back to the local community. We do this because we want our community to prosper and grow.
The benefits of shopping local are well recognized with the US Small Business Administration data showing that nationwide more than 64% of new jobs are created by small businesses. It is timely our Christmas event kick-off on November 25th is the same day as Small Business Saturday, an initiative supported by the US Small Business Administration and American Express, to encourage people to shop local!
Happy Holidays everyone I hope you enjoy this special time with your loved ones and I’ll see you downtown!