A Snowy Annual Tradition Continues in Excelsior

Before , there was the Excelsior Annual Town Open House. The open house has been part of the city’s holiday tradition since at least the 1970s according to Betty Sorenson, president of the Excelsior Downtown Business Group. In the past the event signaled the start of the holiday season, but many of the activities that were part of the open house are now part of Christkindlsmarkt.

This year, the business owners decided not to officially coordinate activities for the day, but there were still things to do and, at some businesses, sales to shop.

The day began in the morning with the at the Dock Cinema.

hosted a trunk show for Silhouette Jewelry. All the proceeds will be donated to Feed My Starving Children.

Then early in the afternoon, it began to snow. By the 5:30 p.m. official tree lighting, it really did look a lot like Christmas.

Linda Murrell, executive director of the South Lake-Excelsior Chamber of Commerce, and Jamie Kiefer, the South-Lake Excelsior Chamber of Commerce president-elect, arrived to light the tree—a large evergreen tree in front of .

They handed out candy canes while a small gathering of adults and children came to witness the tree lighting.

Murrell explained that past tree lightings drew a larger crowd and occurred along with a Christmas pageant at . Last year, the Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Excelsior Business Group instead planned an outdoor event that ended up hampered by a snow storm that also knocked out power.

There wasn’t a snow storm on Saturday, but electrical problems meant that the tree did not light. The tree lighting will be moved to Monday night.

Yet even without the tree, Excelsior's downtown businesses and street lights were lit for the holidays, complete with Christmas lights.