MOSES LAKE — The holiday season began Friday in Moses Lake, with the annual Downtown Moses Lake Tree Lighting ceremony at Sinkiuse Square.

“This is a huge event,” said Mallory Miller, executive director of the Downtown Moses Lake Association which organized the tree lighting.

It was had to come up with an accurate count of the people who were there, with all the children running about, but Miller estimated about 300 at any given time. There was free hot chocolate on offer from Bark Avenue and a craft table where children could get creative with their holiday spirit. Red Door Cafe, across the street from the square, stayed open a little late to let revelers have a place to step inside, sit down and get warm. Santa Claus was there, in the person of Wiley Farrer of Quincy, assisted by his elf Allyson Crow of Moses Lake. Dale Roth spun holiday tunes and emceed the event.

Porky’s Hot Dogs of Moses Lake was doing a thriving business in steaming-hot sausages. Owner Mario Flores said he’d sold about 80 hot dogs in the first hour and a half.

The DMLA organized a scavenger hunt, where youngsters could go from business to business and collect tokens. This also gave the parents a chance to see what the businesses had to offer, Miller said.

The organizers were encouraged to go all out after seeing the turnout at the Harvest Festival on Oct. 28, she added.

“We had like 1,500 kids last year at the Harvest Festival and this year we had 2,500 to 3,000 kids come through,” she said. “Because of the huge buzz that we had after Harvest Festival, we had more people talking about this event. So we wanted to make it more of an event rather than just the tree lighting.”

The festivities started at 4 p.m., and by 6 the crowd was ready for the main event. Roth counted down from 10, the switch was flung, and the tree blazed into glittering life.

“Happy holidays,” Roth shouted to the whooping crowd. “It’s time to step into Christmas!”

Joel Martin may be reached via email at jmartin@columbiabasinherald.com.

    Kasee Smith and her grandsons Kaden Fitterer, 2, and Kyren Fitterer, 4, have their picture taken with Santa Claus, sometimes known as Wiley Farrer, at the tree lighting Friday in Sinkiuse Square in Moses Lake. Kyren admitted he’d asked Santa for a Mighty Pup.
  

    Two-year-old Ivory Ruiz does crafts at a table set up at the Downtown Moses Lake Association’s tree lighting Friday.
  

    Mario Flores, owner of Porky’s Hot Dogs, serves up steaming hot sausages at the downtown tree lighting Friday.