Christmas event in downtown Idaho Falls makes a comeback
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IDAHO FALLS – A popular Christmas celebration is back for its second year in Idaho Falls.
“Deck the Falls,” a four-day event sponsored by ANDX Entertainment that features an animated video being projected onto the waterfalls along the River Walk Greenbelt, finished its first night of operation Monday.
Event organizer and company founder Andy Johnson tells EastIdahoNews.com he was impressed with the turnout.
“We probably had about 2,500 people come out,” Johnson says.
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The event includes a rotation of three different animations accompanied with music. Each video lasts about 10 minutes and Johnson and his team play a different one every half-hour between 6 and 8:30 p.m.
In the Westbank property across the street, people can meet with Santa, see live performances from local musicians and enjoy food and snacks from different vendors. The Museum of Idaho’s Santa exhibit will also be on display and kids can participate in a scavenger hunt to win a prize.
“Deck the Falls” started in 2019 but was canceled last year due to COVID-19 restrictions.
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Johnson says they’ve taken advantage of the extra time to expand and improve this year’s event.
“We had a lot of things built in hopes of doing the show in 2020 but we weren’t able to do it with COVID so we just put those resources toward making an even bigger show this year,” he says.
The transition from one animated show to three is the biggest change. Johnson says they’ve also included some lighting components to enhance the show’s spectacle.
“The lower bowl of the falls gets lit up with color. With the ice and snow down there, it’s a pretty fun (addition to) the show,” he says.
ANDX Entertainment, a local company that provides music, lighting, audio, video and other services for different events, is hosting “Deck the Falls” under its new entertainment platform, East Idaho 2 Do. It’s the platform’s first event and the staff is looking forward to more of them throughout the year.
“That should be able to help us generate some more traffic and volume as far as concerts and other high-level entertainment that we’re able to bring into the area,” says Johnson.
Johnson is grateful to the sponsors for sticking with them, despite the setbacks, and for the initial response from the community. About 10,000 people attended in 2019 and Johnson is hoping attendance will be even bigger this year.
“Deck the Falls” runs every night through Thursday at 525 River Parkway. Admission is free, but there is a cost for food.