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MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake residents gathered to celebrate the annual holiday tree lighting ceremony at Sinkiuse Square Saturday.

“This is our third year lighting a tree,” Sandy Blaine, of Moses Lake, said.

She and her granddaughter Addy Carlile, 5, flipped the switch on a tree near i m b i b e downtown.

“We were here the first year and got asked to light a tree,” Blaine said. “And now here we are.”

Blaine held Carlile up near the switch for their tree and string of lights and waited for the signal to turn the string on.

“The whole thing (is my favorite part),” Carlile said after getting her tree lit.

Vern Hellewell, of the Moses Lake Business Association, said he thought there was a “pretty good” turn out for the 5-year-old event.

“We’re trying to make Christmas downtown better,” Hellewell said.

Pam Engelmann, whose husband was in charge of music for the event, said she likes to attend for the social aspect of the event.

“I like to have fun and see people,” Engelmann said.

Engelmann and her husband have been participating in the event since it began. She said when out-of-towners hear about the event, they are always surprised that Moses Lake hosts a tree lighting.

Engelmann also hopes to see more participation from locals as the event continues to be a part of the early holiday season.

“I’d like to see everybody in town participating,” Engelmann said.

Some attendees were taking advantage of the gathering of people in the downtown area.

“We’re selling glow sticks and hand warmers to raise money for a school trip,” Kariann Green, 15, of Moses Lake, said.

She, and three other students, are raising funds for a spring break trip to Washington, DC.

“We’ll be here during the ag parade, too,” Conner Uhlinger, 14, of Moses Lake, said.

The trees and wreaths downtown will be lit throughout the holiday season.