Winterfest in Cleveland

Cleveland is so alive during the holidays. The weekend of Thanksgiving, as it is also the official start to the holiday season, it is especially so in Cleveland. On this weekend, the downtown area comes alive with the lighting of the official holiday tree. This year, the tree was light up in all green lights. Okay, not my favorite color because I think multi or clear is the best, but that's my opinion.

Because Rob had off, we brought Cassi downtown. We also invited Rob's co-worker, Roz and her 2 kids. We all had a good time together.

Instead of driving, we took the train. It cost us all of $1.00 to ride the train for Cassi. I was free, as, with my tuition at CSU, I am charged $25 for almost 5 months of riding the trains and buses for free. Then, mom and dad get a bus pass through their job. They gave us the pass for Rob to use, which allowed his ride to be free.

When we got there, special stuff was going on. The trains arrive into a building called Tower City. This is a mall, the Terminal Tower, the Ritz Carlton hotel building, and Skylight Office Tower building (where the Hard Rock Cafe can be found). It is a HUGE complex of office buildings, hotels, and mall.

In the center of the mall, there is a leaping fountain. I should have taken a photo for everyone to see. My grandfather has actually stood in front of the fountain, trying to figure out how the fountain works. (but I digress)

When we arrived, there was a troop of dancers performing for the crowd. I've got pictures for this. After the the dancers finished, they came down into the office for people to ask questions. Cassi says, "I want join the group." When I explained she couldn't join the group, but she could go over to see them, she went over to see dancers. She gave each one of them a hug and thanked them for dancing.

Next, and one of the feature attractions, was the performance of a Toy Soldier. This man, according to the Plain Dealer, has been playing the Toy Soldier for the past 16 years. I remember seeing him in 1998, and I even have photos of him then. In the past, all they had him do was walk around the mall, meeting the kids, and dancing with the infants. Now, they actually have a choreographed routine that he does. Someone is on stage singing, along with his assistant. This year, he picked up an infant, that I got pictures of him dancing with her. It was so cute. If I can't get the pictures in this post, I will add them to a separate post.

Then, we purchased a ticket for Cassi to ride the train. And, we went to a holiday shop where she purchased a Dora backpack game set with the money she got from Aunt Re.

We had dinner and went out to see the tree light up. It was also crazy downtown as the Cavaliers were playing basketball that night. The center we were at has an underground walkway that goes over to the "Q" (formerly Gund Arena). So, in the food court, it was an absolute mess to eat. But, we ate and got outside with a few minutes to spare before the lighting. But, what we didn't know was that there was also a parade going on.

After, we came inside, walked around a little more. The kids all got the opportunity to see Santa. But, to my chagrin, you couldn't take your own picture of the child with Santa unless your purchased one of their packages. We decided that we would wait and take her picture at another mall, where we can take our own picture and not have to worry about purchasing any other photos.

Then, we took the train back to our car. I think we were all exhausted after we got home because we didn't get up on Sunday until after 10am.