On a chilly Saturday night, Santa Claus came to town.
Except he wasn’t riding in a sleigh pulled by his reindeer — that would have to wait until Christmas Eve. Instead, Jolly Old Saint Nick and his wife, Mrs. Claus, came cruising into Vashon Village via an old dark green pick up truck for the annual Winterfest celebration on Dec. 7.
The couple got off the truck and walked onto a covered stage, joined by Jennifer Potter and Jim Marsh, of the Vashon-Maury Island Chamber of Commerce.
“Santa, we are absolutely honored you could join us here tonight,” Potter said.
Santa replied, “We are thrilled to be here.”
He noted that the reindeer did not attend Winterfest with him because they’re “resting up for a big day.” He and Mrs. Claus “made great time” coming to the island “until we got caught on the ferry.”
Then, it was down to business: lighting up the community holiday tree, a Noble Fir standing 20 feet high with a string of white lights finished off with a star decoration on top.
Santa had trouble flipping the switch to turn the lights on, so Potter enlisted her kids to help — but not without input from the crowd.
“Can we all please count together?” she asked everyone.
“1… 2… 3… Whoo!”
The attendees cheered and applauded. The holiday season had begun on Vashon-Maury Island.
And then, local musician Camille Coldeen performed the holiday classic, “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree.”
But even before the climactic moment, there was plenty to enjoy about Winterfest. A few blocks of Vashon Highway was blocked off to traffic, making the main thoroughfare less of a pedestrian hazard and more of a community gathering area.
For Potter, the Chamber’s event manager, Saturday’s tree lighting was only the second time she had helped do the honors.
“I was absolutely elated and thrilled the tree lit because so much effort went into it,” Potter said. “I didn’t have a backup plan!”
She believes events like Winterfest are important for a community like Vashon.
“It’s another opportunity for our community to gather together to celebrate however they celebrate the holidays,” Potter said. “There were hundreds of families out together that night.”
As for the object that was the center of attention, the community holiday tree, Potter hopes it is a “focal gathering point.”
“Vashon, we love to get together,” she said.
