The holidays are nearly here, and downtown Springdale businesses are getting ready to celebrate. Nando Garcia is events and programs manager for the Downtown Springdale Alliance. He joined Ozarks at Large’s Jack Travis over Zoom last week to discuss upcoming happenings brimming with holiday spirit.
Nando Garcia: We have two incredible events coming up, the first one being Christmas on the Creek. That’s going to be on November 29, happening from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m., with main activities between 12 p.m. and 5. We’ve got a kids zone opened up with a lot of crafts and fun things happening over there. That’s going to be on Lower Turnbow, so everyone’s familiar with that.
Up top, we’re going to have performances out at Shiloh Square. That’s going to be community performances happening between noon and 5 on the hour. It’s a multicultural setup, and different groups from different backgrounds will be performing—whether it be a choir performance or a band performance. People can stay tuned, and we’re excited to announce those here soon.
Between noon and 5, we’re also having a food court. That’s going to be off Holcomb Street with tons of options for food so people can enjoy that. Along with that, at the train station, from noon to 5, there will be free Santa photos. That’s going to be awesome. They can write letters to Santa, take a photo with a sweet backdrop, and greet Santa, that's gonna be right over there.
Following that, we have a pretty awesome window competition. We’re gathering all the businesses to participate in. They’ll be decorating, and then we invite the public to vote. We’re still working on the process, but the plan is to do an online version. If people aren’t following our socials yet, that’s how they can join in on all the festivities and hear about all the stuff we got going on with Downtown Springdale—on Instagram and Facebook.
Jack Travis: After Christmas on the Creek, we have the International Cocoa Crawl.
Garcia: Yeah, We’re pretty stoked about that. That’s going to be December 12. And that’s going from 5 to 8 p.m. People can expect tons of participating businesses making different hot cocoas from different nationalities, different recipes. They’ll be posted outside their businesses, maybe have treats inside of their businesses.
If people purchase a ticket ahead of time, it’s $15 for adults and $10 for kids under 12. Day-of prices do rise, so we encourage people to purchase ahead. They do go out. We sell out every year. It’s a very fun, family-friendly night. We’ll have street performers on street corners playing music.
If they head toward Shiloh Square which is near our check-in. Our check-in is at Mile 16—they can purchase tickets at Mile 16 day-of. Nearby at Shiloh Square, we’re having a “sofa experience.” So, lounging, couches, and heaters set up to warm up the space. There’s going to be fun music as well. Grab a cocoa, come down to Shiloh Square, have a seat hang out with friends, and enjoy the night.
Lastly, for both of the events and throughout that whole two-week period, the businesses are putting on holiday specials. Restaurants and bars will be offering discounts, so we encourage everyone to stop in and see what they have to offer.
Travis: How do these events play into the Downtown Springdale Alliance’s greater mission?
Garcia: That’s a great question. Our mission ultimately is to promote a vibrant downtown and to promote and enhance the downtown in general through all our programming—creating events that bring people out, bring people together, and allow them to enjoy the space, enjoy themselves, and maybe even meet someone they’ve never met before.
Downtown Springdale is growing vastly, and we’re excited about all the ins and outs—the nooks and crannies of the fun we have to offer. So much is growing, not only in infrastructure but also in community. We’re really excited about it, and we get to promote it, be excited about it, and get the public excited about it.
Travis: Do you live in Springdale?
Garcia: I live nearby in Lowell, right next door.
Travis: Have you been to these events before?
Garcia: I have. They’ve always been something I’ve enjoyed plenty of times. Man, so many cool things have happened. A lot of multicultural events I’ve gotten to enjoy as well. It’s really honoring and sweet to see that showcased so well.
Travis: Could you share a memory or an anecdote from some years past of these winter events?
Garcia: Yeah. With my last organization, I’ve gotten a chance to be in the Christmas parade. Every year it’s so sweet seeing the whole community come together. It’s all across cities. People from Fayetteville, Bentonville, Rogers—they all come out to this parade.
I know the parade happens on multiple different weekends for different cities, so it works out that people come and attend ours on our date. Throughout the day there are obviously a lot of activities, and it culminates with our tree lighting for Christmas on the Creek. That tree lighting is at 5:30 p.m., presented by the mayor, and then from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. is the parade.
That’s where I’ve had the most experience—being part of the parade and seeing the joy from people attending. Definitely the laughs and smiles from so many kids. A lot of all wow factors from the parade.. It always impresses.
There are a lot of sweet improvements for the events. Maybe people have been before and seen different versions, but the more Springdale grows, the more the events and engagement opportunities are going to grow. Whether they think they’ve seen it all, they’re in for a treat—it’s definitely going to be an improved version across the board of our Christmas.
We’ve got some new decorations to roll out and exciting things to light up the night every one of those evenings. It’s going to be a treat. I did forget to mention, I won’t reveal what, but for the Christmas on the Creek tree lighting ceremony at 5:30 p.m., we have a pretty sweet surprise we’re excited to show the public. They should definitely be there at 5:30 p.m. for the tree lighting—they’re in for a treat.
That was Nando Garcia with the Downtown Springdale Alliance, speaking with Ozarks at Large’s Jack Travis over Zoom. You can follow the Downtown Springdale Alliance on Instagram at @downtownspringdale for more information about the November 29 Christmas on the Creek and the December 12 International Cocoa Crawl.
Ozarks at Large transcripts are created on a rush deadline. Copy editors utilize AI tools to review work. KUAF does not publish content created by AI. Please reach out to kuafinfo@uark.edu to report an issue. The audio version is the authoritative record of KUAF programming.
