Downtown Evansville's holiday decor going bigger this year
Originally published November 2019
EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Just one day after Evansville residents were busy with candy-filled pursuits and decked in their Halloween costumes, the downtown area was covered in Christmas decor.
Friday was the big day that Evansville's holiday decorations went up around downtown.
And the Downtown Evansville Economic Improvement District (EID) has vied to go even bigger this year, EID President Josh Armstrong said.
"What we discovered last year is that people interacted with decor we put out in a way we weren't expecting," he said. "It really became sort of a family photo site. We're putting more of those up this year."
This season will be the first to include a purchasing kiosk, one that will be placed on Main Street and moved throughout the downtown area at upcoming holiday events.
"It's going to be nice because it's going to be featured throughout Downtown Evansville events," Y Factor Studio Owner Jennifer Scales said. "And I'm sure they're going to be having it out with Downtown Evansville merchandise and apparel."
Scales, whose interior design shop was hired by the EID to create this year's holiday-themed decorations, said the downtown area will feature more elaborate pieces and designs.
Along with the kiosk's placement, Armstrong said there will be additional lighting installations, a giant snowflake and a Christmas tree with a similar design. The goal, he said, is to beautify the area and attract more people to Downtown Evansville to boost local business' revenue.
"As an organization, we want to create vibrancy downtown," Armstrong said. "We want people to be comfortable and to work here, live here and invest here. We want to drive current business into restaurants and retailers. It's a two-prong approach, and Christmas decor is a big part of that."
The setting of decorations will be done ahead of the Holiday Open-House Weekend on Main Street that starts Saturday. The two-day event will include over 30 shopping merchants and 40-plus eateries.
Other upcoming events include "Small business Saturday" on Nov. 30 followed by "A Downtown Christmas" on Dec. 7, which will feature games, musicians and food vendors to create "a good family time," Armstrong said.