TheBanyanTree: Holidazzle

[Margaret R. Kramer]

I associate Christmas celebrating with being downtown.  I think it’s because
when I was a kid, downtown was where it was happening.  There were no malls,
so downtown was our mall.  We would take the bus to downtown on Saturdays
and wander around looking at stuff and people, and maybe buy a thing or two
with our small allowance and ride the bus home.

Downtown always decked itself out for Christmas and it still does, but more
people are suburban and don’t get to experience the city kind of Christmas.
They kind of like to park where they want to go, walk in, and then back out
to their cars which are only a few feet away.  We’re forced to use our feet
downtown and those five, six, or seven block walks help us soak up the
wonderful diverse atmosphere.  I love the energy that pumps out from the
city.

We went to the big city of Minneapolis last night for the Holidazzle parade.
The Holidazzle is short parade, taking about a half hour, of lighted floats
and people wearing lighted costumes.  It runs five nights a week from
Thanksgiving until right before Christmas.  They’ll cancel the parade if it
gets to –20, otherwise it goes on no matter how cold it is.  Its obvious
intent is to bring people downtown, but it’s also turned into a family
tradition.  It gets us downtown.  Susan, Ray, and I work in the suburbs, so
the boys and us are rarely downtown.

I knew it was going to be crowded, because I picked a Saturday night to go,
but I knew it was going to be relatively warm and also none of us had to
worry about getting up for work and school the next day.  I parked kind of
far away, because it was packed downtown.  There were concerts, Christmas
parties, the Timberwolves were playing the Lakers, and of course, the
Holidazzle, so downtown was a major draw.

We walked through the skyways until we got to the IDS building, which was or
is the tallest building in Minneapolis.  It has a nice atrium with lots of
benches, so we sat there and waited until the parade would start.  Lots of
stores were still open, so Susan was able to buy some snacks for the boys.

When it got close to parade time, we went outside.  The boys squeezed up to
sit on the curb and we stood back and waited for the parade to start.  Susan
bought the boys the cheaply made, but expensive flashlights to wave around.
Ray and I stayed warm, because we dressed for it, but I think Susan got
cold.

When the parade was over, we moved with the crowd, and then found our way to
Gluek’s, which is now a restaurant, but it was formerly a building where
beer was brewed.  It was loud and noisy, but we had a great waitress, who
was very attentive, considering how busy the restaurant was.

After dinner, we walked the several blocks outside, because the skyways were
closed, to our car.  Then we wound our way along the Mississippi River to
St. Paul enjoying Christmas music and the Christmas lights.

Margaret R. Kramer
margaretkramer at comcast.net

http://www.bpwmn.org
Business and Professional Women of Minnesota

Next to a circus there ain't nothing that packs up and tears out faster than
the Christmas spirit.
~Kin Hubbard