Nostalgic Holiday Characters Return to Merry Main Street

Nostalgic Holiday Characters Return to Merry Main Street

Visitors to Merry Main Street in downtown Mesa will see many familiar characters from the iconic Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer television special. Bumble the Abominable Snow Man welcomes ice skaters to the Winter Wonderland ice rink and moviegoers to the Plaza at Mesa City Center, 56 E. Main Street. Rudolph, himself, is across the street at the Mesa Arts Center Alliance Pavilion, where people can take selfies. Other familiar holiday figures at the ice rink, Mesa City Hall and the Mesa Arts Center include Yukon Cornelius, Sam the Snowman and Hermey the Misfit Elf and other characters from the Island of Misfit Toys. All of them provide great photo opportunities.

Something old has become something new at Merry Main Street. Large holiday ornaments that once hung along Main Street in the 1960s and 70s are again displayed this holiday season. Mesa Parks and Recreation staff members discovered and restored the vintage ornaments. They are now on display on all four corners at the intersection of Main and Macdonald, at the Winter Wonderland Ice Rink and inside The Post, located at 26 N. Macdonald, where Santa visits every Friday and Saturday through Dec. 20, plus Dec. 24.

The Plaza at Mesa City Center offers ice skating under the stars daily through Jan. 10, except for Dec. 25. Holiday Movies at the Plaza bring festive movies to the Plaza at Mesa City Center every Friday through Jan. 2. It's an excellent opportunity to watch while skating or bring your blankets to sit and watch the holiday classics on the large screen of the ASU Mix Center. All movies are closed-captioned for people who are hard of hearing:

-Dec. 19 - How The Grinch Who Stole Christmas
-Dec. 26 - Elf
-Jan. 2 - Beauty and the Beast

For more information about Merry Main Street activities, visit merrymainstreet.com.

Merry Main Street is in partnership with the City of Mesa; Mesa Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities; Downtown Mesa Association; Visit Mesa; Mesa Chamber of Commerce; Benedictine University; Google Fiber; Nesbitt Contracting; Sysco and VCA Animal Referral & Emergency Center of Arizona.

The Arizona Parks and Recreation Association (APRA) recently awarded the City of Mesa the Outstanding Special Event Award for cities with populations over 100,000 to honor the success of Merry Main Street. The six-week holiday festival has been lighting up downtown Mesa each winter since 2015.