November 29, 2007

Jumpstart the holidays Friday night

The streets of downtown Ritzville will come alive with the sights, sounds and tastes of the holiday season for a Christmas season kickoff on Friday, Nov. 30.

The Ritzville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Horizons Project are sponsoring a night of music, entertainment, free food, games, crafts and spending money starting at 5 p.m.

One and all are invited to gather in Pioneer Plaza in downtown Ritzville (Washington Street between Main and Railroad Avenues) for caroling and lighting the Christmas tree on the corner by the plaza clock.

Ritzville High School music instructor Jennifer York with students from the high school will provide instrumental music. The barbershop quartet, Over Forté, will also be performing.

Indoor activities will be centered in the Ritzville Public Development Authority’s building (former Brunswick Tavern) on Main Avenue.

A free dinner including chili, cornbread, clam chowder, hot chocolate, cider and Christmas cookies tops the evening’s offerings, starting at 5:30 p.m. Caroling will continue from 6:30 to 7 p.m.

Organizers are also accepting donations for the Ritzville Food Pantry at the RPDA building during the festivities.

Space is available for community members and organizations to promote any and all community events. For more information contact the chamber office at 659-1936.

Santa will drop by for a visit during the activities and chat with area children, followed by photos with Santa by the Ritzville Festivals Association.

As people shop downtown businesses, merchants will hand out numbered candy canes. Each candy cane is a chance to win a prize at the RPDA building.

Children will have a chance to create tree decorations for the community tree or to take home throughout the evening.

“We kind of hope this might be the beginning of a kickoff event that all organizations can be involved in,” said Horizons volunteer Ann Olson.

The Horizons Project final event rounds out the evening at 7 p.m. A Washington State University facilitator from Spokane will be seeking ideas for how to spend grant monies during a brainstorming session.

Part of the last phase of the Horizons Project includes writing a grant proposal to NWAF that explains what the community decided to do. If awarded, up to $10,000 is available.

 “We believe we qualify for the grant and we could get $10,000,” Olson said. “This is your last chance to put your two cents in on how we should spend the money.”

Part of the final event will include choosing your top pick of ideas from the top three items identified in the Study Circles and the top three from the surveys sent to addresses in Ritzville in September.

Results from the Washington State University Division of Government Studies survey in September will be on display.

The surveys were the first component in the fourth phase of Ritzville’s Horizons Project and requested input from everyone about the future of Ritzville.

The Horizons Project, a community education and training program to provide local residents with tools to improve the local economy, is funded by Northwest Area Foundation and sponsored by WSU Extension.

Horizons is about building community leadership from within, and is an opportunity for community members of all ages and walks of life to work together to make Ritzville a better place to live for everyone.

Ritzville is one of six rural communities in central Washington selected to participate in the Horizons Project, an 18-month, grant-funded initiative.

They are among 22 communities statewide chosen to participate in the project, which targets communities with fewer than 5,000 residents, and that have declining populations and poverty rates of at least 10 percent.