Christmas bringing WestRidge Mall alive

By Lauren Radomski | The Daily Journal

Published 06:00 a.m., November 30, 2009

Black Friday was just the start of a slate of holiday activities scheduled for Westridge Mall in the next month.

One of those events is the annual Christmas art and craft show, set for Dec. 12 and 13. Jeannie Nicholson-Anderson, the mall’s events coordinator, says she’s received 20-some applications for this year’s event, which typically draws vendors from a three to four-hour radius of Fergus Falls.

The mall will also host a day-long scrapbooking event Dec. 12; more information is available by calling 218-739-2072.

Following requests from shoppers, mall staff have extended Santa’s availability. His hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. each Saturday until Christmas. Santa will also be at Westridge in the days preceding Christmas: Dec. 20 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. and Dec. 21-23 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

As in previous years, free gift wrapping on mall purchases is available at the Mall Services Center located near entrance B. Customers don’t need to have gifts wrapped the day of purchase, Nicholson-Anderson said, but they should bring their receipts. The service is available Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m., with additional hours scheduled for Christmas week.

The mall will continue to host a Salvation Army kettle, which is staffed by local musicians on Friday nights from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Bob Johnson and his wife, Gail, ask other string musicians to join them in the rotunda area outside Herberger’s, where they play gospel music and other spirituals around the kettle. Bob Johnson is the founder of the First Sunday Mall Jam, a 19-year tradition that brings dozens of musicians to entrance C for what Johnson calls “an open jam session” featuring any style of folk music. The group gathers the first Sunday of the month from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Westridge’s owners have had a long-standing commitment to making space available for community members, Nicholson-Anderson said.

“The mall has been playing a very active role in the community and will continue to play a very active role,” she said.

The Fergus Falls chapter of Quilts of Valor, the organization that creates quilts for military personnel, operates from a space near entrance C free of charge. The group has a sewing day scheduled for Dec. 11 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Members of the Fergus Falls Regional R/C Flyers use the mall’s Community Room (the former Fashion Bug space) to fly model aircraft during the winter months. The group is scheduled to meet there Dec. 2 from 6 p.m. until about 9 p.m.

Looking beyond the holiday season, Westridge will open its hallways to local nonprofits for charity sales Feb. 27 and will cover the cost of advertising for the event. The tax service traditionally held at the Senior Center will also be available at the mall starting early next year.

---

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE THIS STORY?

---