LEAVENWORTH, Wash. — Leavenworth will no longer "flip the switch" on its holiday light displays on Saturdays and Sundays in an attempt to mitigate crowd sizes and increase parking availability in the town.
Instead, the lights will stay on every day of the week through February. Programming at the Gazebo and Festhalle will cut off at 7:30 p.m. on weekends.
The city plans to move forward with its usual holiday programming for the first time since 2019. Organizers also added several new events, including a gingerbread house competition, a festive gift wrapping station, locally made ornament giveaways to mid-week shoppers, and a month-long advent calendar giveaway with daily prizes, according to the Chamber of Commerce's website.
The city similarly made changes to Oktoberfest, saying the old festival outgrew the small town. Leavenworth canceled the festival in 2021, and city leaders are planning a more subdued family-friendly "autumn fair" for 2022.