Hanford Winter Wonderland kicks off Saturday

HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) -- Tickets are selling fast for the Hanford Winter Wonderland. It's nine weeks of holiday fun in the middle of historic downtown!

The Winter Wonderland Zamboni was out on the ice rink Friday morning, as the City of Hanford's Park and Community Services department prepared for Saturday's kickoff.

"He's finishing the ice so when the ice skaters come, it is a perfectly smooth surface," said Brad Albert, director of Parks and Community Services.

Civic Park has slowly transformed into a winter wonderland.

"This is really a family-friendly event, and we want to appeal to all ages," Albert said.

The Hanford Winter Wonderland is back for its second year.

There's a bigger ice rink, seating areas to stay warm, food, drinks and entertainment.

City officials said they didn't hold back this time around after all the positive feedback last year.

"Everyone said it was wonderful. It's the first time Hanford has ever done anything like that," Albert said. "It's really fun to be embraced by the community."

The winter wonderland also brings holiday fun to the downtown businesses.

"Our core of downtown -- it's about four to five blocks of restaurants and boutiques, all owned by small business owners who live right here in our community," explained Michelle Brown, executive director of Main Street Hanford.

Main Street Hanford is partnering with the City for the event.

According to the executive director, it's made Hanford a destination for people around California.

"From Southern California to Northern California, but mainly throughout the Central Valley, people were visiting and shopping and dining," said Brown. "We heard from business owners that restaurants were busier than ever."

Organizers expect these next nine weeks to, once again, be busy -- with tickets to the ice skating sessions selling fast.

More information can be found on hanfordwinterwonderland.com.