Multicolored lights and classic holiday tunes added to the cheerful din echoing down Main Street at the 33rd annual Marshalltown Central Business District (MCBD) Holiday Stroll on Saturday evening.

The usual warm, festive atmosphere the Holiday Stroll is known for was matched by an unusually warm late November evening. Many businesses welcomed guests with doors propped open – one of them was Black Tire Bike Co.

“We’re just excited to have everyone downtown,” said Black Tire Bike Co. owner Matt Gerstandt, a 14-year participant in the Holiday Stroll. “[The Holiday Stroll] opens up a lot of great foot traffic.”

He said the event is a great opportunity for folks to get to know Main Street’s many shops and vendors, and it’s a chance for businesses like his to make a good first impression with new visitors.

In addition to many longstanding Main Street stores, Holiday Strollers got to check out the newer businesses working to establish themselves.

“Today is actually our first day, our opening day,” said Olivia Ogston, owner of Grounded, a new coffee shop and bakery in the old Willard’s Furs and Fashions location at 36 W. Main Street. “It seems like a very good, well-attended event.”

With all the excitement, Ogston kept things simple on Saturday evening – customers enjoyed fresh-baked cinnamon rolls and hot cups of coffee before continuing on the Holiday Stroll circuit.

There were plenty of yuletide activities for all ages in between the stores and shops, a “Reverse Parade” ranking among the largest of the evening. Rather than a procession of parade floats, families moved from one parked float to the next all along Main Street.

Live music could be found up and down the Holiday Stroll zone, including from the MHS Marching Band at the corner of East Main and North 2nd Ave., the Marshalltown Men’s Chorus at Vineyard Christian Fellowship, Con Brio A Capella at Brown’s Shoe Fit and McGregor’s, among many others.

Of course, Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus themselves were in town to hear Christmas wishes from local children.

Santa’s Workshop at First Interstate Bank offered cookies and refreshments for the kids who waited patiently in line to see old St. Nick. With this year’s Holiday Stroll in the books, he’ll no doubt be looking forward to his next trip to Marshalltown in a little more than a month.