Leavenworth Christmastown shines bright after storms, power outages
Leavenworth lights back on after storms dim holiday season
After days of power outages, flooding and wind damage, Leavenworth’s iconic Christmas lights are shining again, restoring holiday cheer and drawing visitors back to the Bavarian-style town.
LEAVENWORTH, Wash. - After relentless rain, flooding, and whipping winds dimmed the lights in Leavenworth, the holiday magic is back on full wattage.
There's a renewed feeling of Christmas warmth just in time. On Friday, you could hear a band surrounded by the Village of Lights playing Jingle Bells.
What they're saying:
"This is as Christmas cheer as you can possibly get. I love it. We've never experienced anything like this before," said Azly Rivera, who is visiting from Vancouver, Washington.
You could see Christmas in every corner of town.
"It's honestly magical and the community's really beautiful and wonderful," said Marissa Perez-Ortiz. "I'm amazed all this goes on all year-round, all the time, but right now, probably more than ever, just coming out and supporting, and making sure that everything's ok."
Perez-Ortiz came to town with Rivera as well as family members and friends to truly enjoy the holiday season.
She and everyone in the village could feel that cheer as they sat around warm fires sharing memories and making new ones.
It's true: Christmastown is alive in Leavenworth.
Storms brought flooding, high winds, and power outages. The Village of Lights went dark.
Local perspective:
City leaders said the storms made a significant impact.
"The city’s power grid experienced an extended, wide-scale outage, negatively impacting thousands of residents and numerous businesses. There was extensive damage throughout our residential neighborhoods, including downed trees and power lines. Multiple closures on city streets, county roads, and state highways, limited accessibility to Leavenworth for a short period of time. The increase in the river’s water levels on the Wenatchee and Icicle Rivers inundated city infrastructure, leading to flooding concerns," City Spokeswoman Kara Raftery said.
Now, the lights are glowing.
It's just in time and that glow could also be seen on the faces of Jordan Van Gelder and Kristin Ataras, who also made the trek from Vancouver, Washington for a surprise engagement.
A washed out, damaged Highway 2 couldn't stop the scene made for TV.
"We were just taking a little break from some stuff at home. Came up here for a day trip and was a complete surprise. He proposed to me and we just needed some Christmas in our life," Ataras said.
It's a moment of joy reflected in her new engagement ring and in decorations around Leavenworth.
"I'm the luckiest guy in the world. She said yes," Van Gelder shared with FOX 13 Seattle. "It's something just I've wanted to do for a very long time, and I'm so glad we got to do it. I'm glad it worked out the way it did. I don't think I've ever been happier in my life."
Joel Martinez has a front-row seat to this magic at the Icicle Brewing Company.
He's glad to see it return.
Big picture view:
City officials said businesses have taken a hit.
"Our lodging tax collections and retail tax collections will not be available for a few months, those will be the true indicator of the economic impacts of this storm and subsequent closure of Highway 2," said Jessica Stoller, the Marketing and Public Relations Director for the Leavenworth Chamber of Commerce.
Martinez admits things have been a bit slower.
"We actually had to close early due to power outages last Wednesday and then were closed for two days after that," he said. "The winds were super impactful throughout those few days. You know, the floods actually made I think the news more, but the trees down in town had a larger impact on power and everything in town."
But Leavenworth is known as a place where miracles thrive.
This re-illumination appears to be one, acting as a guiding light for Santa, his reindeer, and so many others.
"Come on out and enjoy it with your family because it is Christmas time and this is like the one place that I think is the most Christmas I've ever seen in my life," Perez-Ortiz said.
City leaders said there are a few things to keep in mind as you make your way to town.
You'll need to take Highway 97 and I-90 while Highway 2 is closed.
Remember, neighborhoods and a few other areas are still cleaning up from the storms, but downtown is good to go.
We're told Leavenworth will keep the lights on until the end of February, so you still have plenty of time to visit.
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The Source: Information in this story comes from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle reporter Dan Griffin.