Winterfest Returns With Ice Skating on the Plaza

Despite a and the subsequent , Winterfest is returning on Dec. 3-4 and promising to be better than ever.

Mill Valley’s 17-year-old signature holiday celebration, which has been an on-again, off-again affair in recent years, had Mill Valley families basking in the glow of holiday cheer last Dec. 12 before the caused the event to end on a sour note. The incident, in which no one was injured, served as a metaphor of sorts for its organizer, the , which effectively laid off its executive director two months later and spent the better part of 2011 in limbo.

But behind the efforts of a few local business leaders, including the owners of , as well as a , the holiday event is set to return to . The two-day event (11 a.m.–6 p.m. both days) will be music-centric on Saturday, with bands and carolers performing holiday fare throughout the day. On Sunday, sledding will be replaced by an ice-skating rink right on top of Depot Plaza itself, according to Ken Brooks, the owner of the former Staccato clothing store at 30 Miller Ave. and one of the primary drivers behind keeping Winterfest alive.

“If the chamber continued to be dysfunctional we wouldn’t even be having a Winterfest,” Brooks said. “But there were a number of forces at play here to bring it back, and I sort of I took it upon myself to make sure the community would have something a bit more than we had last year.”

Mill Valley Vice Mayor Garry Lion, who becomes mayor at the City Council’s Dec. 5 meeting, applauded the efforts of Brooks and others who made sure Winterfest didn’t go by the wayside.

“Winterfest sets the tone for the holiday shopping season,” he said. “It has a long tradition, and when it doesn’t happen, it sends a signal that things are not going well.”

Brooks said Saturday’s music is being fleshed out, with local musician and teacher Cole Tate overseeing the lineup, which already includes the jazz quintet and the string quartet.

“It’ll be like the magic of the Sweetwater, where on any given night you could have this amazing experience with or without somebody famous walking in,” Brooks said.

Sunday’s ice-skating will be free and the 1,200-square-foor rink accommodates approximately 25 people at a time. Tiburon has used a similar setup for holiday events in the past and reported great success, Brooks said. The rink is built on sheets of thick layers of plastic that interlock, he said.

Brooks said the campaign to bring back Winterfest has been focused on staying true to the city’s ongoing efforts to expand upon the number and diversity of events occurring at Depot Plaza. The plaza parking lot won’t be closed on Saturday, as the stage will be set up outside the .

“One of my interests was to create a worthy event that could be emulated by others at other times throughout the year that would have a minimal impact on the plaza and the parking lot and bring energy to downtown and boost local businesses,” Brooks said.

Lightings will conclude both days, with the Book Depot getting lit at the end of Saturday’s event and the groves of trees in the plaza getting illuminated Sunday.

“The intent here is to make everybody feel good about living in this great community,” Brooks said.

The 411: Winterfest at Depot Plaza is Dec. 3-4, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free. For more information or to provide comments about the event, contact Ken Brooks at 415.686.5707 or kennethianbrooks@gmail.com.