MINOT—Crowds packed Main St. in downtown Minot Friday evening, Nov. 26, to enjoy the annual Christmas tree lighting. The balmy late November conditions provided the perfect setting to attract hundreds of participants and window shoppers to the annual event.
“It’s always a great event,” said Margie Bolton, owner of Margie’s Art Glass Studio on Main St. “It’s great to see so many people out here.”
After the event was canceled last year because of COVID restrictions, people seemed eager to enjoy the beautiful scenery, sing along with live Christmas music, and stop in at the many shops that remained open late for the event.
Onlookers sang along with live Christmas music until 6:00 p.m., when Bolton began the countdown to light the tree. After everyone sang “Silent Night” together, the crowd dispersed up and down Main St. to continuing checking out the Black Friday sales.
“I think the merchants benefit almost as much from the event as all the people out here,” added Bolton.
"The first time I came here and saw all this, I thought, 'This whole community thing is kind of weird.'"Chris Bogdan, Fargo
Some in the crowd were visiting from out of town as well. Chris Bogdan, Fargo, said he was in town to visit family for the holiday weekend. “We’ve been coming here for the past four or five years,” said Bogdan. “Some of us come over from Fargo and others come down from Winnipeg, and we meet up here with my brother-in-law in Minot.”
Having retired in Fargo after a career in the U. S. Army, Bogdan was a skeptic the first time he attended the event. “The first time I came here and saw all this, I thought, ‘This whole community thing is kind of weird.’ But the whole town converges here, it’s a great sense of community.”
