The streets of Ponoka were full of people during the town’s annual Midnight Madness on Nov. 28. Most businesses were open all day and night to give shoppers a chance to Christmas shop while receiving great deals at the same time.
Stores all over town, especially the downtown, had drinks and snacks available while people traveled down the aisles trying to find the perfect gift or sale.
Midnight Madness kicked off at the Town Hall with the tree lighting ceremonies where dozens of people came to watch the giant tree brought to life with coloured lights.
As the community waited with their hot chocolate for the lights to come on, Santa Claus was busy cruising in a fire truck getting ready to greet the kids.
The Christmas lights lit up the tree and the kids excitedly awaited the arrival of Santa Claus.
The fire truck made its way down to the Town Hall with its lights flashing and Santa and Mrs. Claus stepped out into the crowd. They were swarmed by children as they gave our treats and candy canes to each child.
The Town of Ponoka put on quite a show with their fireworks display at the baseball diamond by the Battle River. The impressive show lit up the sky and the streets were lined with spectators.
The fireworks sounded through the streets and lasted for a substantially long time.
Ponoka News saw the giving spirit of the community with their donations to the Ponoka Food Bank.
People flocked into the newspaper with their bags of food and donations to put under the tree. With a donation the Ponoka News offered a gift envelope from the tree. The gifts were donated from local merchants.
A group of carolers made their way from store to store to help ring in the holiday cheer. The large group was from the cast of Klaglahachie’s upcoming musical “A Christmas Carol”. The decked out carolers sang song after song all over town and brought holiday cheer to all who heard.