Holiday in the Village

Joining us are Recreation Director Julie Michon and recreation specialist Jimmy Ekstedt. And we're here to unwrap all the magic memories and exciting new additions coming to this year's celebration, including the brand new Winter Magic at Montgomery Quarter. 

Transcript

Amy Frederick: 0:06

Hello and welcome to a very special edition of the Montgomery Insider Podcast. I'm your host, Amy Frederick.

Matthew Vanderhorst: 0:12

And I'm Matthew Vanderhorst. Today we're celebrating one of Montgomery's most beloved traditions holiday in the village. On Saturday, December 6th, in the historic Montgomery and Montgomery Quarter.

Amy Frederick: 0:21

Joining us are Recreation Director Julie Michon and recreation specialist Jimmy Ekstedt. And we're here to unwrap all the magic memories and exciting new additions coming to this year's celebration, including the brand new Winter Magic at Montgomery Quarter. So grab a cup of cocoa and let's dive into the holiday spirit. So, Julie, let's start with you. We're going to talk about holiday in the village. You're pretty much all the traditional stuff that we're used to. And then Jimmy will get to you with all the new stuff. So what can people expect, Julie, after. Let's start with the tree lighting.

Julie Machon: 0:54

The tree lighting is just so magical with everyone around. The community just gathers around and, you know, with the fresh snow that's on the ground today and the newly decorated windows, the greenery and the bows are all out. So it just gives us some extra special, um, motivation and excitement for the event. But at the tree lighting, uh, we've invited an extra special guest, uh, the big guy himself, and he comes along and we have Victorian carolers. But my really my favorite part is really the kids around the tree. All the winners and just their their excitement and their energy and handing them the, you know, the coloring contest, the winners, the gifts and then the lighting of the tree, of course, is just amazing. And we have a horse and wagon all decked out for the winners, where after the tree lighting, we, um, have them into that horse and wagon and they travel down to Universalist Church and they ride with Santa, and that's part of their gift to their singing carols on the way down. And, um, so, yeah, so then they end up at universal church.

Amy Frederick: 2:08

That is quite a magical moment. I do love how excited the kids are when we call them up, you give them their gift. You can just feel the excitement and it feels like a hometown holiday.

Matthew Vanderhorst: 2:17

It really is one of the things that we do, uh, we like to have everybody down there, but we know not everybody can come down. But if you have, uh, one of the one of your children that's on the coloring contest, uh, and you have relatives want to see them? We usually live stream the event around that time. Just tune in and we'll be there.

Amy Frederick: 2:35

Okay, so once everybody gets to the church, tell us what's at the Universalist church, then you've got stuff at Twin Lakes and Bethesda North.

Julie Machon: 2:43

So, um, Santa is there at the church, which is obviously one of the big features where kids can visit and, uh, describe all their wishes to him. Um, also, we have Mrs. Claus, and she's on stage with Rudolph, and families can get their photo. Um, so there's also a craft station. Um, all the winners of the coloring contest are displayed. Um, so it's wonderful. And the kids get to see their artwork hanging. Um, there's a reindeer mix and hot chocolate cocoa there and a couple games. And then of course, um, the horse and wagon that takes, uh, families throughout the downtown. This is all free. Um, but they get to see they get to go down Montgomery Road, where they get to see all the lights, and it's just the festive, wonderful time.

Amy Frederick: 3:31

Yeah, I think it's real. Kickoff to the holiday season. What's going on over there at Twin Lakes?

Julie Machon: 3:36

You know, they're having a wonderful craft station there and also some treats for the families. Um it's a very, very wonderful. They're just such a wonderful host and so welcoming to everyone there. Um, and then um, also at Bethesda North, um, they have obviously their big train display.

Amy Frederick: 3:56

Um, which is super cool.

Julie Machon: 3:58

It's amazing. It's you have to see it. It's truly an amazing thing. Um, so yeah. So we have some wonderful partners, um, you know, where, um, things are going on at both locations there, too.

Amy Frederick: 4:11

That's cool. But this year we really want to talk about what's new. And Jimmy, That's you. Winter magic. The Montgomery quarter. So tell us what's going. What people can expect to see at Montgomery Quarter.

Jimmy Ekstedt: 4:21

Well, Montgomery quarter just is going to have tons of fun opportunities for people young and old alike. But just kind of starting off that we will have a small pen set up for petting the reindeer. And that'll be great fun for the petting zoo experience itself and photo ops and all that.

Amy Frederick: 4:46

That's pretty cool. A real reindeer down there for us to take a look at. I like that. What else you got?

Jimmy Ekstedt: 4:51

Um, in addition, like with the carolers that Julie's already mentioned, we're going to have an area set up for them. So after they have their initial performances up north a bit, they're going to come over to Montgomery Quarter and continue their singing. Just bringing the holiday cheer and festivity to all that's there. Other features, um, include the inflatables. We're going to have a giant Slide for the kids as well as inflatable axe throwing, so that'll be really fun.

Amy Frederick: 5:22

That's pretty cool. How big is that slide going to be?

Jimmy Ekstedt: 5:24

I believe it's 58ft.

Amy Frederick: 5:26

Holy smokes. That's going to be a big slide. Yeah. And then let's see. There's something else that's very special this time. We've never done this before right. The toy.

Jimmy Ekstedt: 5:33

Dress. Yeah.

Amy Frederick: 5:35

Let's talk about.

Jimmy Ekstedt: 5:35

That. Saving the some of the best for last. So this year we are coordinating with Operation Give Back, a local charity that's just based over in Blue Ash. They do phenomenal work over there with Sheila and Amy over there. They serve hundreds of local families that are in the Sycamore Community School District, so including Montgomery as well as Sharonville. And I've had the opportunity in some of my fun outlets to go over and support them with some fundraisers and just seeing the impact that they have on the local community is utterly amazing, so I'm thrilled to be able to coordinate this event where we're going to be doing a toy drive for them. So if you can bring new, unwrapped toys, these gifts can go towards making local families have a great holiday season.

Amy Frederick: 6:42

So tell us about the toys are so we're going to collect toys and you're going to put them in a model A right. Yep. So tell us about that.

Jimmy Ekstedt: 6:49

So yeah hobby that I'm involved in is driving a 1929 model A. So with some and we have a really robust area club. So we're going to have local members bringing their Ford Model A's and B's. So the model A was made from 1928 to 1931. So we're going to have some nearly 100 year old cars where we're going to fill the sleigh full of toys. It'll be a whole lot of fun with passionate owners and really cool cars and supporting good local cause.

Amy Frederick: 7:26

I think that's such a great idea. I think it's cool to try to fill these. We're going to try and fill them, stuff them with all these toys. But if you can't make the event and you just want to drop something off, is there something for those folks?

Jimmy Ekstedt: 7:37

Yes. So, um, so if you can't make it to the actual festival itself, we will have driving lanes set up on Cameron Street. So you can just do a quick drop off and go. And if you can't make it that evening at all, Operation Give Back is always looking for support. And they're located on Millington Road and Blue Ash.

Amy Frederick: 8:02

Okay. So how do you if you want to do all of it, you guys are planning on a shuttle too. So tell me about that, Julie.

Julie Machon: 8:09

So there will be a shuttle that runs from, um, uh, Remington Road right next to the Universalist church. And we do have a route and it goes to the Montgomery corridor. So it will have both locations where people can just sort of hop on and go experience and then come back.

Amy Frederick: 8:26

So that's pretty cool. So you don't have to take your small children and walk all the way down from Universalist to Montgomery quarter. I think having that shuttle is a great option for folks. Um, there's also going to be like, um, I know Montgomery Quarter is going to put a place for you can get your your picture taken and you can tag them and us for a chance to win a prize. So that's going to be really cool as well through the month of October. Um, is there anything else that we haven't thought to ask about Montgomery Quarter, Jimmy, that you want to add?

Jimmy Ekstedt: 8:56

So, uh, backing up this toy drive, we are doing a coordinated campaign with radio station warm 98. So they will be live during holiday in the village and hopefully drawing a whole lot of hype, a lot of attention to the toy drive and to Montgomery Quarter as a whole. Um.

Amy Frederick: 9:18

I think that's very cool. I'm very excited about that. That's something new to try this year. Do you have your crafts, your hot chocolate, and Santa up at the church and you have a craft at Twin Lakes. And then those awesome trains. But then you have an outdoor slide. You have a reindeer that you can pet and get your picture taken with. And then there's inflatable igloo igloos too, right. That you can get your picture taken in. So let's go over times. What time is the tree lighting?

Julie Machon: 9:40

Tree lighting starts at 5:00 and that's at the corner of Montgomery and Cooper. And that lasts about half an hour. 30 minutes. Yeah.

Amy Frederick: 9:50

And then let's talk about mx's times.

Jimmy Ekstedt: 9:52

Mx's time is a little bit staggered in coordination with the tree lighting and events at Universalist Church. So we'll be running from 530 to 8 p.m..

Amy Frederick: 10:02

Okay, that sounds cool. That's a wrap on this festive episode of the Montgomery Insider Podcast. Huge thanks to Julie and Jimmy for sharing all the holiday cheer. Whether you're coming for the carriage rides, the crafts, the carolers, or the reindeer, there's something for everyone at holiday in the village. For more information, go to Montgomery, Ohio gov. Until next time, stay warm, stay joyful and we'll see you at holiday in the village.