Magical Night Is returning to Mount Vernon tonight (Thursday, Dec. 1), from 5 to 8 p.m.
The event will be in-person in uptown Mount Vernon, with numerous stops hosting events tonight.
“After a break from in-person activities due to the pandemic, the Magical Night Committee is pleased to announce the return to a live, in-person Magical Night event on the streets of Uptown Mount Vernon,” said Joe Jennison, Director of Main Street and Marketing for the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group (CDG).
The night kicks off with the lighting of First Street Community Center at 5 p.m., with Santa Claus himself flipping the switch. That will follow with a Christmas carol sing-along, led by The Spirit of Christmas Carolers.
Dance Arts Iowa will host their holiday showcase with two shows at 6:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. There will also be an art exhibit in the gymnasium, featuring artwork by Mount Vernon students, and a performance from students in the Mount Vernon High School Concert Choir and Music Works Iowa.
Santa will be at Mount Vernon Bank and Trust to collect letters from youth again this year, and the annual Holiday Craft Bazaar will be held in the basement of City Hall.
Christmas carols will also be heard along the streets of uptown Mount Vernon, with members of the United Methodist Church Praise Team outreach providing songs.
The popular cookie decorating activity has moved from First Street Community Center to the First Presbyterian Church basement. A multicultural holidays celebration is also presented at the church from Cornell College’s Office of Intercultural Life. An animagerie display will also be presented.
A soup supper will be served at United Methodist Church of Mount Vernon, as well as a cookie walk.
The Live Nativity Scene will also be held again this year at Memorial Park, with shows beginning at 6:15 p.m. and 7 p.m., with opportunities for children and others to meet the actors and animals.
The Marching Mustangs will be performing inside the Old Fire Station, 213 1st St. NW, from 5 to 6 p.m. and outside, look for a meet-and-greet and candy cane giveaway with members of the Lisbon-Mount Vernon ambulance team.
New this year will be an outdoor winter scene in Hilltop Pocket Park 110 1st St. SW, Mount Vernon’s latest park in the middle of downtown. A former alley, Hilltop Pocket Park will be decorated with trees, a snow machine and will include a live photo opportunity with characters from the movie “Frozen.”
With the return to a live in-person Magical Night festival, First Street will be closed for a number of blocks.
First Steet West will close from Highway 1 to Fifth Avenue during the course of the evening, including the crossings at Second Street, Third Street and Fourth Street. First Street East will be closed from B Avenue Southeast to Hwy. 1. The closures will begin at roughly 4:30 p.m., with the roads to open again at 8 p.m., after the festival has concluded. Hwy. 1 will remain active during the street closure, so families are encouraged to use caution when crossing the roadway.
Members of the Mount Vernon Marching Band will perform in uptown Mount Vernon during Magical Night at the old fire station.