City Council
MEETING DATE: 5/10/2017
TITLE:
Title
Snow Fest
End
FROM:
Chris Parman, Communications / Events Manager
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Approve the recommended changes to Cathedral City's annual tree lighting event.
Body
BACKGROUND:
On the first Thursday of December each year, Cathedral City holds its annual holiday tree lighting ceremony in front of City Hall. The event typically includes the arrival of Santa Claus, musical performances, and light refreshments. Average attendance for the event is about 300 people with the exception in 2015 when College of the Desert held its first "Street Fair" in downtown and the event was moved to a Wednesday evening instead of Thursday evening.
Most recently, local businesses have been eager to become more involved in the event as a way to give back to the community during the holiday season. Last year, Volkswagen of Palm Springs sponsored the event, and the year prior, Family Medical Center sponsored it.
DISCUSSION:
Parks and Community Events Commissioner Karyn Barnes approached staff with the idea of building the event into a festival. Commissioner Barnes was a founder and manager of the "Festival of Lights Parade" in Palm Springs. She met with staff to discuss all the possibilities. Based on those meetings, staff is proposing the following changes and additions to the annual holiday tree lighting ceremony:
1. Change the name:
In the past three years, the name for the annual tree lighting ceremony has been "Santa & Seasonal Lights" and/or "Seasonal Lights, Santa & Skating on Ice". We propose the name to be changed to "Snow Fest". We think the name itself will create interest in the desert, but more importantly, one of the features of the festival is to spray fake snow made of bubbles all over Town Square Park to create the illusion of snow.
2. Change the Date and Time:
Instead of occurring on the first Thursday of December, we propose holding it on the second Saturday of Decemb...
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