To commemorate the start of the holiday season, the new downtown shopping center Kirkland Urban is kicking off its first winter festival this weekend.

The event, rather than be confined to a single day or weekend, will take place from 2-8 p.m. every Saturday, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 21. According to Kirkland Urban director Andrea Lachmann, it was important during the planning process that the event could be enjoyed by as many people as possible.

“We’re trying to focus on a day in the week where we can reach a broader audience and have fewer barriers,” she said.

Although there are some tweaks made to scheduling between weekends, residents can anticipate photo opportunities with Santa Clause (and subsequent pet photo sessions with special guest Santa Paws), arts and craft booths, refreshments, live music and more. Two Saturdays will conclude with a family friendly holiday-themed movie screening, to which attendees are encouraged to bring blankets and chairs. Others will end with a 21-and-older beer and wine garden featuring local wineries and breweries.

Lachmann is personally familiar with the difficulties of finding holiday festivities that appeal to everyone in the family. The Kirkland Urban Winter Festival is looking to stand out through variety.

“I am a mom of two outside of my Kirkland Urban duties, and it’s hard to find something for everybody on the weekends,” she said. “Mom and dad may want to do one thing, my 14-year-old wants to do something else…I think it’s great that there’s a wide variety of events [at the festival]. It’s bringing people out of their houses, if you look at it from a Pacific Northwest perspective.”

Lachmann said that because Kirkland Urban is new to the community, it’s exciting for both her and the facility’s vendors to see people increasingly take an interest in what the shopping center has to offer.

“I’m personally really excited just to see the site continue to come alive,” she said. “With every passing day, as retailers either open or get closer and closer to completion on their tenant improvements, we see more and more folks to the site. I’m just excited to see masses of people…and see their feedback.”

While the winter festival is the main program at Kirkland Urban in December, Lachmann said that residents should expect more events from the site throughout 2020.

“We’ve got lots going on,” she said.

For more information about the Kirkland Urban Festival, go to its Facebook event page at bit.ly/2CZcvWw.