N ow is a great time to get out and go for a walk.
This being the Outdoors page, you might think we’re taking about the woods or an alpine trail, but we’re not.
You see, your feet can lead you and your family to a wealth of positively enchanting holiday scenery if you’re willing to venture out, not to the mountains but to the more urban landscapes of downtown Seattle, Bellevue and La Conner.
We know what you’re thinking: Why would I leave the warmth of my cozy home and jump into the region’s fray of weather, traffic and holiday hubbub?
Well, thanks to each city’s desire for customers and tourists, many free attractions and Northwest traditions await.
Bundle up, pour some hot cocoa into a thermos, grab your children and take off. Walk a few blocks or stroll for miles. It’s up to you.
Bellevue breaks ground
Even if you can’t stand the ramped-up commercialism that malls and the holidays bring, it’s hard not to be a little bit wooed by downtown Bellevue, one of the area’s most revered shopping attractions.
It’s especially true this holiday season with glittering snowflakes lining the streets, white lights wrapped around the boulevard trees and a new, big honking music, light and drum line show, complete with fake falling snow, every night through Dec. 24.
This is the first year for the free 15-minute show, featuring young drummers from Greg Thompson Productions of Seattle and sponsored by developer and Bellevue Collection majority owner Kemper Freeman Jr.
Freeman, attempting to duplicate the fanfare of a similar show he saw in New York City last year, has invested more than $1 million in the daily production, plus another $500,000 in marketing.
Billed as the largest holiday drum line ever – and certainly the first for Bellevue Square – “Snowflake Lane” comes to life at 7 every night, except Sundays when the show starts at 5 p.m.
It builds slowly with 60 drummers dressed as toy soldiers making their way in military style to 60 pedestals standing 3 feet tall. After arriving at their stations the drummers climb up and face the road, primarily Bellevue Way between NE Fourth and NE Eighth streets.
Then a booming voice emerges from the loudspeakers announcing the start of the event, accompanied by an light show projected onto nearby buildings. Recorded carols and instrumental versions of holiday tunes begin and the drummers play along, sometimes dancing in the spirited styles of the 2002 film, “Drumline.”
Visitors will hear a medley of holiday songs, including a percussive version of “Jingle Bells” and a particularly danceable “Little Drummer Boy” instrumental.
Visitors can wander through the streets to see different types of drummers and their instruments – snare, bass and more – starting at the south end the street near Macy’s, where a 1 1/2-story tree decorated with flickering blue, green and red lights stands in place for the usual fountain.
Traffic continues to crawl down Bellevue Way during the whole affair, which can be kind of a buzz kill, but the fake falling snow shooting from the rooftops of Bellevue Square takes the edge off and adds an idyllic air to the sparkling streets.
You can also view the show from inside the Lincoln Square complex, which opened Nov. 1, and the sky bridge that connects the building to Bellevue Square.
Spokeswoman Anne Marie Peacock said Freeman, who plans to continue the event every year, hopes the event will draw more visitors to the new Lincoln Square, a mixed-use building offering lodging, shops and plenty of entertainment, including a new 16-screen cinema, opening this weekend.
Shows continue nightly through Dec. 23 with a final farewell performance at 4 p.m. Dec. 24. See bellevuesquare.com and click on “Happenings” for a map and more details or call 425-454-8096.
After the show, take a walk one block east on NE Eighth Street, where a large live Christmas tree – covered in white lights – twinkles in front of Washington Mutual.
On your way back, you may even run into a quartet of charming carolers, dressed in period clothes and singing four-part harmonies of traditional madrigal tunes such as “Wassail, Wassail, Wassail.”
If you’re trying to make a day of it in Bellevue, check out the Magic Season Ice Arena, a covered outdoor rink one block south of Bellevue Square that offers skating daily through Jan. 1 at Bellevue Downtown Park.
Skating costs $8 and includes skate rentals. There’s a free heating viewing area for nonskaters, too. See www.magicseason.com or call 425-451-2455 for details. Finally, don’t miss Garden d’Lights at the Bellevue Botanical Garden (12001 Main St.) where “thousands of tiny twinkling lights transform Bellevue Botanical Garden into a winter wonderland” nightly from 5 to 9:30 p.m. through Jan. 1. Admission is free. See www.bellevuebotanical.org or call 425-451-3755 for details.
See it all in Seattle
Since the days of the Frederick &Nelson department store, family trips to downtown Seattle to see Santa, carolers and holiday lights have been a cherished tradition for many families.
While the old department store is no more, many holiday customs have continued.
Kids can visit Santa and his grand North Pole castle at the downtown Nordstrom, 500 Pine St. Photo packages cost about $20 plus shipping, but you can use your own camera to snap pictures with the jolly old fellow, too. Call the automated Santa hot line at 206-628-1000 or the store at 206-628-2111 for more details.
Next, if you have the kids along – and maybe even if you don’t – be sure to stop at the Downtown Seattle Association’s Holiday Wonderland, just a block away at Westlake Park next to Westlake Center (400 Pine St.; www.westlakecenter.com; 206-467-1600).
You’ll find live music and a holiday carousel for all ages. Now going on 18 years of tradition, carousel rides cost a minimum $2 donation to benefit the Seattle-based Northwest Center, which serves children and adults with disabilities. This Sunday, you can catch ice carving all day at the Holiday Wonderland, too, following the Jingle Bell Run at 9 a.m. See www.downtownseattle.com or call 206-623-0340 for details.
Next, if you really want to get your walk on, set out to see the Nutcracker March, a public art project featuring 50 one-of-a-kind, 7-foot-tall sculptures of soldierlike nutcrackers sprinkled throughout downtown Seattle.
Modeled after the Ponies on Parade of Seattle’s 2004 season, this year’s happening features exclusive works by local artists whose whimsical designs are sure to delight even the most critical cynics.
Nutcracker highlights include a “Mollusk Cracker,” featuring a sea otter holding a chainsaw, “The King,” a regal-looking Elvis, and “Heritage,” a Northwest totem. Presented by the Pacific Northwest Ballet, each sculpture will be auctioned online to benefit the Northwest Center.
Internet-savvy surfers will find nutcracker photos, a downloadable audio tour for MP3 players and, more important, a map pinpointing each nutcracker location. See www.nutcrackermarch.org to chart your course or call 206-623-0340 for details.
If you are in downtown Seattle on the weekend, look for the free double-decker bus, better known as the Holiday Express shuttle, arriving at various locations every 15 minutes between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through Dec. 24.
Finally, if you’re downtown in the evening any day of the week be sure to stop by Pacific Place at Sixth Avenue and Pine Street for an indoor snowstorm.
Make your way to the chichi shopping center’s five-story atrium and set your gaze high at 6 p.m. sharp any night of the week to see the “snowflakes” fly.
You’ll see kids twirling around and swatting at the fabricated snow as a modern rendition of “Winter Wonderland” plays. You may even feel a bit giddy watching the storm, visible from any of the center’s four floors.
Motorized snow guns filled with jugs of fluid on the top tier shoot floating, foaming puffs of white that smell a bit like detergent and mysteriously don’t accumulate on the floor.
Still, it’s not bad for indoor snow. Plus, if you arrive at Pacific Place after 5 p.m. any day of the week, parking is only $3 for four hours. See www.pacificplaceseattle.com and 206-405-2655 or for details.
Take a break in La Conner
If you’ve had enough of overpopulated streets, parking garages and Pottery Barn (irresistible, though it is), it’s time for an escape to Skagit County, where La Conner promises to win your heart.
This historic artsy waterfront village – often mobbed during the height of tulip season – offers streets perfect for strolling, window shopping and relaxing this time of year.
“Buildings are decorated with lights and there are beautiful wreaths on the streetlights that are lovely at night,” said David Bricka, executive director of La Conner’s Chamber of Commerce.
Look for parking on or near First Street, where you’ll want to get out and stroll among the shops and views of pleasure craft and fishing boats lining Swinomish Channel.
You’ll find Kenmare Square, alight with the city’s Christmas tree, numerous quaint shops on First Street, featuring gifts, art and food as well as entries in the city’s Ginger Bread House Decorating Contest, going on now through Dec. 17. Look for kids’ entries at the La Conner Fruit and Produce Market, a farmers market with food vendors that opened this year.
Tonight only take advantage the city’s “vintage Christmas” walking home tour showcasing five historic homes from 4 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $5 per person and will be for sale during the tour at Katy’s Inn, 503 S. Third St. See www.katysinn.com or 360-466-9909 for details.
On Dec. 17, take the kids to the Skagit County Historical Museum Festival at (501 Fourth St.) from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., when Santa will arrive in a 1930 Model A coupe. You can also catch a new transportation exhibit and the “Old Time Transportation Holiday Festival,” also from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. See www.skagitcounty.net; click on the departments and offices link, or call 360-466-3365 for details.
Sewing fans will definitely want to stop at the La Conner Quilt Museum, now featuring quilts made in the style of the Civil War era.
Housed in the historic Gaches Mansion on Second Street, the museum is reportedly the only one of its kind in the Northwest and one of only 12 quilt museums in the United States. Admission is $4. See www.laconnerquilts.com or call 360-466-4288.
Finally, don’t miss the small but renowned Museum of Northwest Art on First Street, which carries the nickname MoNA. See www.museumofnwart.org or call 360-466-4446.
Find out more about La Conner events at www.laconner.net or call 360-466-4778.
Reporter Sarah Jackson: 425-339-3037 or sjackson@heraldnet.com.
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