Stephanie Yost
President, Idyllwild Community Center
Idyllwild’s Tree Lighting Ceremony, which will be held Saturday, Nov. 26, will honor traditions old and new.
This year’s traditional festivities will include two live entertainment stages, numerous activity and gift booths managed by local nonprofit organizations, roaming costume characters, four local food vendors and a sleigh for family photos. Activities include cookie decorating, a holiday photo booth, ornament painting and balloon animals.
Booths will open at 2 p.m., live entertainment begins at 4 p.m., and the trees will be lit around 5:20 p.m. by the lucky winner of the “Flip the Switch” raffle (tickets will be on sale that afternoon in Idy Park from 2 to 5 p.m.).
Santa and Mrs. Claus will arrive courtesy of an Idyllwild Fire Department fire truck at the Village Center gazebo for free visits from 1 to 3 p.m. and from 4 to 6 p.m. Deputy Mayors Mikey and Mitzie and their dedicated staff also will be available to greet visitors at the event.
Local nonprofits managing the booths include Idyllwild Community Center (ICC), Soroptimist International, the Idyllwild Help Center, Animal Rescue Friends, Friends of the San Jacinto Mountain County Parks, Idyllwild Association of Realtors, Living Free/War Horse Creek, Mountain Disaster Preparedness, Mountain Quilters, Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit, Spirit Mountain Retreat and Forest Folk.
Following a newer tradition begun in 2019, ICC, which manages the event, will light all eight trees in Idy Park rather than just a single tree, as was done previously. This year’s tree donors, whose financial sponsorships primarily pay for the event, are Idyllwild Realty, Tahquitz Pines, Idyllwild Inn, Idyllwild Brewpub, Ferro Restaurant, Silver Pines Lodge, Idyllwild Bunkhouse, the Idyllwild Association of Realtors, Idyllwild Village Market, Sunflower Bakery and Rustic Sunrise.
Shane and Ashley Stewart of Idyllwild Realty are handling the hanging of the tree lights this year.
