The Holidays are Sweeter in Van Meter to feature Sips and Snacks, 5K on Dec. 1-2
The Holidays are Sweeter in Van Meter will kick off with the annual Sips and Snacks on Friday night.
The Van Meter Community Development Corporation will host its ninth-annual Sips and Snacks event from 4-7 p.m. Rona Jacobs, with VMCDC, said 17 businesses are participating this year.
The tours will start at the American Legion, where Jacobs said attendees can pick up their wristbands for $5 and maps. Attendees can also purchase raffle tickets while enjoying their sip and snack at the various locations.
Friday will also kick off the annual Light the Town Challenge. Judges will view the participating homes and hand out first, second and third awards. Community members will also be able to vote for their favorite via www.vanmeterlife.com.
Other holiday events include the Van Meter Community Market and Van Meter Legion Auxiliary Cookie Walk from 5-8 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. Saturday at the Veterans Reception Center.
The Van Meter Methodist and Baptist Churches will host a Kids Shopping Day from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Van Meter Methodist Church. The Van Meter Fire Department will give Santa a tour of the town starting at 8 a.m. Santa will then stop by the Winter Market, where he will meet with kids from 10-11 a.m.
The Holidays are Sweeter in Van Meter will continue with a new event on Saturday afternoon. The Ugly Sweater 5K and Kids Fun Run will be held at 2 p.m. at Memorial Park. Participants can register online and starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday Winterset Cidery will host a beverage garden with cider for the adults and root beer for kids.
Kids can work on crafts at the library from 12-4:30 p.m. The library will also host Stories with Santa from 4:30-5 p.m.
The Holiday Dog Parade returns for the second year at 4:30 p.m. The Grinch and his puppy will lead the parade from the library to Memorial Park. Jacobs said that will kick off the Merry and Bright Night, set for 5-7 p.m. The event will include a live DJ, visits with Santa and the Grinch, a family photo station, balloon animals, bounce house, a free-will hot dog meal and more at Memorial Park.
The second annual tree lighting will wrap up the festivities at 6:50 p.m.
In addition to the in-person activities, community members and area residents can bid on silent auction items at vanmeterlife.com. Bidding will close late Saturday afternoon.
Jacobs said they asked community members to make wreaths for the online auction last year, which brought in extra funds for VMCDC. This year, she said they expanded it to holiday door décor for community members to bid on.
"All of our proceeds from this event go directly back into our community to help with different needs of development. Right now, our focus is sidewalks and trails as well as a revitalization of downtown," Jacobs added. "What a better way to see what the downtown district is all about than coming down to the Merry and Bright night, just to see where your dollars are going to help."
She is looking forward to the new and returning events during this year’s celebration.
“We’re really excited to bring in the 5K run and the beverage garden with Winterset Cidery,” Jacobs said. “Having that with the Merry and Bright festival, we brought that in last year and it was a huge success, and we’re just excited that we can expand The Holidays are Sweeter in Van Meter.”
Find more information, including registration for Sips and Snacks and the 5K, silent auction items and Letters to Santa, at www.vanmeterlife.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Holidays are Sweeter in Van Meter to feature Sips and Snacks, 5K Dec. 1-2
