Christmas Carolers sing outside of Ottesen's during Midnight Madness.
Lensing Hayes sitting with the Salvation Army red kettle during Midnight Madness.
Wrangell's Christmas Tree lit up the night with lights and fireworks. The community Christmas Tree is a tradition that stretches back decades. The earliest mention of the tree lighting in the Wrangell Sentinel's records that could be found was in 1974.
It was cold, the evening of Dec. 7, and at times rainy.
That did not deter many Wrangell residents from coming out for Midnight Madness, however. Midnight Madness has been a Wrangell tradition for about 30 years, according to Stephanie Cook with the Wrangell Chamber of Commerce.
"I think it went pretty well, even though it was a little rainy and cold," she said. "There were lots of people who showed up and had fun."
Front Street was crowded as people hung out, shopped, and sang Christmas carols. Many stores stayed open late so people could get their Christmas shopping done. Several organizations also set up shop in the downtown pavilion. Head Start offered hot chocolate and churros. The Wrangell Volunteer Fire Department turned out to sell chili, cornbread, and popcorn, to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Across Front Street, several fires had been lit to help people stay warm, and to let people make s'mores. Santa Claus also made an appearance at the Stikine Inn.
The evening culminated with the lighting of the city's Christmas tree, which was set up next door to the Elks Lodge. Mayor Steve Prysunka lead the countdown. With some fireworks, the tree lit up the night. Shortly after being lit, a large gust of wind made the tree lean out into the street. Several people were made nervous about the tree actually tipping over, but it stayed upright.
"Shout out to the Wrangell light and power crew for doing all of the work for the tree. They always help us out every year and we appreciate it, we couldn't do it without them," Cook said. "And to the city for putting barricades up."
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