By JAMES BELL
Hays Post
Downtown Hays will soon be completely decorated for the Christmas season after the Annual Frostfest Tree Lighting ceremony at 5 p.m. Nov. 26 at the Downtown Pavilion, 10th and Main.
During the event, attendees will be treated to coca and carolers along with a visit from "someone extra special," according to the event details.
The Hays Public Library will also participate again this year with a reading of the library mascot, Chilly the Penguin's, new book planned during the event.
And the library bookmobile will also be on site.
New to the festivities this year, following the downtown event, Tree Top Security Dallas Haselhorst will host a Hometown Holiday just down the street, in the south parking lot of 507 Main from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
"We're hoping to bring some folks on down and have a little bit of a holiday spirit there as well at our newly revamped building," Haselhorst said. "There will be lots of special characters and lots of things for the kiddos to do."
The free event will feature cookie decorating, ornament crafts, a station to send letters to Santa and more.
"So a little bit of everything," Haselhorst said. "Victoria's school is actually coming over to do some Christmas carols for us."
He said he was happy to engage with the community to create a fun holiday event.
And while work continues to get the building ready for tenants, including his own Tree Top Security and STEM Harvest, he said creating an event like this downtown was very much a part of the reasoning behind purchasing and revamping the building that had been the longtime home of the Hays Daily News.
"We're we're signing the contract and everything else to purchase the building, and my wife looks over me and she's like, 'Hey, now we can do this,' " Haselhorst said.
He said being a part of the community, and especially downtown Hays was always a desire of the longtime Hays business owner.
"There's a ton of amazing things going on there already," Haselhorst said. "So hey, maybe we can join in on the fun, kick this up a notch and, make it really, really special and work with a lot of the businesses and the folks and the energetic people that are already doing amazing things there."
Fort Hays State University will also kick off its holiday events from 5 to 8 p.m. Nov. 29, with a tree lighting in front of Sheridan Hall.
"The university’s Dickens Carolers will perform," according to the event announcement. "A variety of activities will follow the tree lighting, including crafts and cookie decorating, a coloring page contest, kids’ train rides, and photos with Santa Claus. The first 200 people will have the opportunity to receive a holiday-themed FHSU long-sleeved T-shirt and coffee/ hot chocolate from Breathe Coffee."
