Holidazzle Kicks Off 2016 Seasons in Loring Park On Friday, November 25

Minneapolis, Minn. (November 2, 2016) — Holidazzle will return to Loring Park for the second straight year beginning Friday, November 25 in Downtown Minneapolis.

The longtime Minneapolis holiday tradition will run Thursdays through Sundays starting Friday, November 25 through Friday, December 23.

That includes 17 dates that feature local people, places and products that highlight incredible food, beverages and merchandise, activities, entertainment and more. Holidazzle, is free and open to the public, will run 5-9 pm on Thursdays, 5-10 pm on Fridays, 11 am-10 pm on Saturdays and 11 am-7 pm on Sundays.

Opening night will also include a Ceremonial Opening celebration at 6:30 pm at the Holidazzle stage including holiday lighting, a musical performance, and a fireworks display to kick off this year’s holiday season.

Opening night will also include a Ceremonial Opening celebration at 6:30 pm at the Holidazzle stage including holiday lighting, a musical performance, and a fireworks display to kick off this year’s holiday season.

“We invite you and yours to join us at this year’s Holidazzle back at beautiful Loring Park this winter,” said Leah Wong, Vice President of Events & Marketing, Minneapolis Downtown Council. “People who join us this year can again take part in a number of free activities for all ages and abilities that help celebrate the holiday season. We’ve continue adding programming elements to Holidazzle that build off of last year, and we look forward to a magical season again this winter.”

Holidazzle will include a collection of programming throughout the run that will provide excitement and entertainment for all ages. Some of this year’s programming includes:

• Fireworks Displays: Holidazzle will have fireworks displays each weekend at 6:30 pm on Nov. 25, Dec. 3, Dec. 10, Dec. 17 and Dec. 23.
• Santa Visits: Holidazzle is your opportunity to meet and take photos with Santa Claus
• Movie Nights: Two outdoor movies will be played each week, including; Miracle (Nov. 25), Miracle on 34th Street (Nov. 27), Home Alone (Dec. 1), A Christmas Story (Dec. 4), Elf (Dec. 8), Happy Feet (Dec. 11), Serendipity (Dec. 15), Frozen (Dec. 18), Ice Age (Dec. 22) & A Charlie Brown Christmas (Dec. 23)
• Free Skating: Come to Holidazzle and enjoy free outdoor skating in Loring Park! The Wells Fargo Minneapolis WinterSkate will be open seven days a week plus during all Holidazzle hours and includes the Warming House courtesy of CenterPoint Energy. Bring your own skates or use a complimentary pair available in the warming house (sizes vary and are available on a first-come, first-served basis)
• Kids Zone: This year’s Holidazzle includes a kids zone with activities that offer creative opportunities that let kids build, navigate a haybale maze, participate in yard games and more.
• Local Musical Performances: Musical performances from local groups and community bands/choirs will provide entertainment throughout this year’s Holidazzle. Look for the full performance list on Holidazzle’s schedule page.
• Bonfires & Warming Houses: Stay warm at Holidazzle by enjoying outdoor bonfires scattered throughout the area as well as multiple warming houses.
• Surprise & Delights: Look for special events, appearances and activities to be announced throughout Holidazzle this year.

Holidazzle has an incredible assortment of on-site prepared food and beverages that gives a flavor of Minnesota’s strong dining scene. Enjoy limited time items like the new Holidazzle sausage from Kramarczuk’s as well as Fulton Beer’s new Holidazzle Baltic Porter, which will be on sale throughout the Holidazzle, and the Sociable Cider Werks Fat Bike Mulled Apple hot cider released first at Holidazzle as part of this year’s food and beverage providers:

• Breadsmith Pretzels
• K-Town Street Foods
• Royal Asian Foods
• Pierogi’s Wonderland
• Local Cheese Curds
• Sociable Cider Werks
• Cinnamon Roasted Almonds
• Spyhouse Coffee Roasters
• Fire & Flour
• Poffertjes and More
• Fulton Beer
• Specialty Mini Donuts
• Kramarczuk’s
• Walt’z BBQ
• Wallace’s Kettle Corn
• And More!

Complementing the activities are a wide variety of local merchandise vendors that offer a chance to shop for unique items from right here in our community. Plan to do your holiday shopping at Holidazzle! Check www.holidazzle.com/vendors for weekly schedule.

• The Abbey Alpacas
• Hippy Feet
• PartlyCloudy Collective
• Amelia & Holly’s
• Käthe Wohlfahrt
• Pure Goodness Bath & Body Shoppe
• Apothicare
• KCM Woodworks
• Shoppe By Lola
• Blue Turtle Handmade Crafts
• Kevin Matthews Pottery
• Stein House
• Bring It!
• LB Originals
• Strey Designs
• Cherry Rock Design
• Love Your Melon
• StylArena
• Comfortbug by Heidi
• Lucid Wood
• Superior Switchel
• Crankosaurus Press
• Mademoiselle Miel
• The Beer Dabbler
• DK Wood Toys
• Makwa Studios
• The Cookie Cups
• Fair Anita
• Merchant Leather
• The Thirsty Whale
• Faribault Woolen Mill Co.
• Minnesota Awesome
• Three Rivers Farm Syrup
• Gray Duck Soap
• Moxie Malas
• Tilly Air Plants
• Hagen & Oats
• My Sister
• Vikse Designs
• Heather’s Dirty Good Seasoning
• Nordic Cinnamon Sprinkle
• Wintercraft
• And More!

Holidazzle also added lighting and ambiance this year, adding to the visitors’ overall experience. More dazzle will be seen within the Holidazzle footprint, including commercial-style lighting within the park through twinkle lights and uplighting. The Wolf and Moose exhibit, as first seen as part of the Creative City Challenge this summer, will be installed at Loring Park during Holidazzle. The exhibit will include a restructured lighting element. The Wolf and Moose bring a message of caring for the earth and one another in the midst of the holiday season—what happens to one happens to the other. It is a reminder of interconnectedness with one another during the holiday season. In addition, Knitteapolis will add to the daytime ambiance by showing up within the Holidazzle footprint with creative yarnbomb features that add to the experience. The Wolf and Moose, along with added twinkle lights, uplighting and Knitteapolis, collectively align with Holidazzle’s Request for Creativity lighting submissions over the summer.

“Holidazzle is always an exciting time of year for people within our community to gather and enjoy the holiday season together, and we’re thrilled it’s back in Loring Park,” said Jayne Miller, Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board Superintendent. “Loring Park is a wonderful gathering space downtown within our park system, and bringing people from across the region together for holiday enjoyment is a great way to celebrate the incredible outdoor settings we have in our city.”

When planning a trip to Holidazzle, visitors can enjoy Free Ride Nights courtesy of Metro Transit each Saturday throughout the run. Get there by bus or light rail with a free-ride pass, which can be downloaded at Holidazzle.com. The pass must be printed and shown during the free ride, and the free-ride pass is good from 10 am-11 pm each Saturday. Also look for parking options near Holidazzle with ramps offering low-cost parking opportunities. A drop-off and pick-up location will be available on the corner of Yale Place and Willow Street, and ADA-accessible parking spots are available along Willow Street.

For more information on Holidazzle scheduling, vendors and entertainment, visit www.holidazzle.com and follow along on social media through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #Holidazzle. Holidazzle imagery can be found at www.holidazzle.com/media.

About Holidazzle:

The 2016 Holidazzle is managed and produced by the Minneapolis Downtown Council in partnership with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. Holidazzle is an annual holiday tradition in Downtown Minneapolis that offers free programming and activities for all ages and ability while also highlighting local people, places and products that make our community unique. The 2016 Holidazzle is sponsored by Minneapolis Building & Construction Trades Council, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union 292, Egan, CenterPoint Energy, PCL Construction, Fulton Beer, dotcom.printing.inc., Minneapolis Recycles, Premium Waters, Inc., Metro Transit, Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine and many others.

About the Minneapolis Downtown Council:

Founded in 1955, and one of the most historic central business associations in the nation, the Minneapolis Downtown Council (MDC) is a membership-based entity that works to create an extraordinary downtown. The MDC’s collaborative developments of Intersections: The Downtown 2025 Plan was designed to help downtown businesses, community leaders and citizens build on downtown assets and implement future goals. For more information, please visit DowntownMpls.com.

About the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board:

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board is an independent, semi-autonomous body responsible for the Minneapolis park system. With 179 park properties totaling 6,801 acres of land and water, the Park Board provides places and recreation opportunities for all people to gather and engage in activities that promote health, well-being, community and the environment. Its Grand Rounds Scenic Byway, neighborhood parks, recreation centers and diversified programming have made the park system an important component of what makes Minneapolis a great place to live, play and work. More than 21 million annual visits are made to the nationally acclaimed park system, which was named the number one park system in the nation in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 by The Trust for Public Land’s ParkScore® Index.