OTHELLO — It was time to light the community Christmas tree Saturday night, and the kids clustered around Santa were going to lead the countdown. They had to be loud, or it wouldn’t work.

So they counted down.

“Five, four, three, two, one,” they shouted.

And the tree stayed dark.

Well, perhaps they didn’t shout loud enough. So they tried again, as loud as they could shout.

“Five, four, three, two, one,” they shouted.

And this time it worked.

Othello Mayor Shawn Logan said the annual A Christmas Miracle on Main Street town celebration proved one thing about the town.

“Othello likes to celebrate,” he said.

The celebration takes its cue from the classic story of the Grinch, who tried to steal Christmas from the residents of Whoville. In fact, “Whoville” was the 2021 theme, and all the decorations around city hall featured characters from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.”

Main Street was filled with people, watching as the parade rolled down the street, kids scrambling after candy thrown by parade participants. Cars and horses were decorated with lights, the Othello Police Department brought along the Whoville jail, and the Grinch himself was walking in the parade, packing a present. That is, until a fellow parade participant stole his present. The Grinch went running after her, and managed to get it back.

The parade attracted farm machinery, fire trucks, floats and some horse riders, most decked out in lights. The city of Othello float won one of the two awards given out, while Vyve Broadband won the second.

The crowd watching the parade kept the vendors busy.

“It was really good today. It was a great turnout,” said April Villa, owner of Tacos Villa.

Events were scheduled all day, starting with a cornhole tournament that drew 16 teams, said Tiffany Cutforth, one of the organizers. The Othello High School drill team performed during the afternoon, along with the OHS band. The lawn in front of Othello City Hall was filled with vendors, and kids had the chance to pose with the Grinch for pictures.

The organizers also had a food drive as part of the festivities.

Businesses sponsored open houses and Wahitis Elementary School hosted a bazaar. Fireworks brought the crowds to Lions Park after the parade and tree lighting.

The Impact Youth Othello group sold tacos during the town celebration for a few years, and Phil Gomez, one of the volunteers running the booth, said it’s always a fun night.

“We’re having a good time,” he said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].