November 28, 2009
Cleveland Winterfest
Today, the City's Public Square lights up with about 100,000 people, bands, speakers, fireworks, Christmas lights, the huge tree, and displays because this is, after all, the day following Thanksgiving when all the citizenry pours into downtown to shop at all the major department stores and see Santa Claus at Higbee's and Mr. Jingeling on Halle's Seventh Floor, Santa's associate and his elves at May Company, and the tall, ornate Christmas tree at Sterling Lindner.
Whoa, whoa, whoa! No-no-no-no! It's not the day after Thanksgiving, it's Saturday. I saw the sign!
Halle's? Closed. May Company? Closed. Higbee's? Closed. Sterling Lindner? Closed. And the Cleveland Winterfest is now held on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Shop in the suburban malls on Friday, come downtown Saturday.
But someone in our household didn't know that. Sterling-Lindner closed in 1968. Halle Brothers closed in 1982. May Company closed in 1993. Higbee Company was sold to Dillard's and closed its downtown doors in 2002. But she invited a few people over for dinner and a tour of the lighted, decorated Public Square -- last night!
25 people -- and no lighted, decorated Public Square.
The food was great.
So, early this morning, as the rest of the City slept, city workers and others were out on Public Square building stages, putting up huge TV screens, barricading streets, working on the fireworks display, and telling a guy walking his dogs to stay out of that area because of the danger to the public.
Someone in the police department put up a few of these "no parking" signs:
Because this doesn't happen on November 28 in these parts --
and --
Oh, the party last night -- it wasn't a total loss because a few weeks ago, there was a test burn of the lights. A preview ... on my iPhone!
Wait 'til next year!
Tonight, we will not be present for the lighting of Public Square. We will be seeing a different kind of fireworks:
