The halls are being decked for a new tradition in Port Townsend.

Seven evenings of lights and wonder are coming together at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds to celebrate the Magic of Christmas from Dec. 8 through Dec. 13
with one last night of storytelling on Christmas Eve.

IT’S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE

Fairgrounds manager Danny McEnerney was inspired by the many events in the area surrounding Halloween and decided more needed to be done for the yuletide season.

“We really hope for a good community event,” McEnerney said.

To accomplish the feat, he enlisted the help of Ted Krysinski and his company TLK Productions, which has more than 30 years of experience doing lighting, rigging, and more for special events, live entertainment, theatre, and film.

“I just happen to be the guy that’s vocal enough and stupid enough to take on a project like this,” Krysinski said.

With their combined efforts and an army of “elves” (community volunteers), their team is creating a winter wonderland with a series of events to awe both young and old.

MERRY AND BRIGHT

Kicking everything off is a parade that will deliver Santa to get the party lit at
4 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 8.

“Santa will be in the last car and there’s a couple semi trucks coming in and big fire trucks,” McEnerney said.

From there, Santa will head to his grotto which the 4-H Cat Club was kind enough to offer for the duration of the event.

The grotto will be fully decked out to offer families the picture-perfect moment with Santa, and in order to keep the North Pole mood from turning south, people can sign-up for a time slot and enjoy the festivities instead of standing around in line.

Another enchanting element of opening night are the real deal reindeer that will be on site from 5 to 8 p.m.

“They’re just so amazing-looking,” McEnerney said.

“People are going to be able to walk up and pet them and interact with them,” he continued, adding that someone will be present to offer insights about the animals.

Beyond those beauties will be a decadent display of lights with a series of structures throughout the grounds.

“The local hardware stores have donated a bunch of rebar so we can make a bunch of shapes that we’ll get lit,” McEnerney said.

“When you go at night and you see a ton of lights, it’s just special,” he added.

The community has jumped on board in a major way with volunteers a-plenty working alongside McEnerney and Krysinski all through the night and day.

“The only reason this is successful is because I’ve got a team that not only believes in the Magic of Christmas, but in what we’re trying to do,” Krysinski said.

THE SEASON OF GIVING

All week long, various buildings at the fairgrounds will sport a holiday theme, including a Christmas post office with elves offering children stationary to send their wishes to Santa, as well as Mrs. Claus’s Kitchen, which will have treats.

There will also be a crafts station for the kiddos, as well as a pop-up crafts market — including a youth market — on Saturday, Dec. 10 and Sunday, Dec. 11.

“There’s a lot of kids that create stuff, why not give them an opportunity to go ahead and sell it?” Krysinski explained. “Not to their aunts and uncles and their grandmothers — because grandmas buy everything and that’s not really fair — and there’s junior entrepreneurs that want to sell stuff.”

It’s easy to imagine how an event like this would focus on entertaining kids, but the organizers plan to expand it even more in the future.

“Our long-term goal is to involve education through apprentice training,” Krysinski said, with a vision of an ever-expanding array of opportunities to learn and create.

OLD, FAMILIAR CAROLS PLAY

From 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13, there will be a special free showing of the movie “Elf” with a sing-and-cheer-along edition lead by Consuelo Aduviso, who has acted in many local theater productions.

Aduviso and her team of merry helper elves are going to lead the crowd in more than just songs.

“There’ll be times where things get paused and then maybe a snow fight happens,” McEnerney said, mentioning that while this is the first go at it, they hope it will grow into an even bigger production in the future.

“Not as much as Rocky Horror Picture, but a community participation kind of a thing,” he said.

Finally, the holiday cheer crescendos on Christmas Eve with a community reading from actor and community leader Amanda Steurer-Zamora who will be reading three classic books for all to enjoy, with the last being “Twas the Night Before Christmas.”

There will be hot drinks to keep everyone toasty with attendees encouraged to bring their own blankets and other warm and cozies.

The Kiwanis will also sponsor that event with a number of free books for children who attend.

“If we can create an opportunity for even five minutes that moms, dads, and their kids can say, ‘Hey, life is good right now,’ — that’s what we’re shooting for,” Krysinski said.