Its that time of year again, when Christmas decorations come out of dusty boxes and you can really tell who’s in the holiday spirit. We separate the meek from the jolly. Downtown leader Jim McPherson is organizing an effort to decorate Central Ave where the City can’t due to budget restrictions.

This weekend marks the 25th  APS Fiesta of Light Electric Light Parade here in Phoenix. In lieu of a lovely post-Thanksgiving snowfall, this long standing tradition announces the true beginning of the Christmas season downtown.

The parade start its march at 7pm this Saturday on Central Avenue at Montebello heading south, or you can catch the official judging tonight starting at 5. Does anyone know the official criteria for float judging? Is it based on lumens?

In addition to lighting up the night, APS will once again collect canned goods along the parade route for donation to St. Mary’s Food Bank. And of course Santa will be there, taking suggestions from good little girls and boys and keeping everything jolly.

Events like these are what make the downtown Phoenix community great. According to Jim McPherson, “Celebrating milestones and occasions helps to build community. Many residents, neighborhoods, arts and cultural institutions, businesses, and city officials are all working to foster that sense of community as more and more people move downtown and tourists visit our city.” Jim is just one of a group of people working to decorate Central Avenue for the season to help promote patronage and general Christmas cheer. Over time, Central Avenue became the primary place to hold such major parades and holiday events. According to Jim, the Central Avenue decorations that have gone up this year were first installed in 2002. But the holiday’s don’t just end with lights. CityScape has installed an ice rink and Christmas tree downtown for everyone to enjoy.

Not only is it a time for visitors to see our developing downtown, but the community comes together to celebrate a wonderful holiday season around their favorite local businesses.

As Phoenix’s downtown economy grows into a true metropolitan epicenter, we in turn deal with the downsides of big cities, like the homeless populations. There are several local organizations working with the community to  overcome this issue. The Tumbleweed Youth Center, near the downtown ASU Campus, had been providing a safe environment for homeless or displaced youth in Phoenix for decades. But when a growing homeless population met an impending foreclosure, the center was forced to look for a new location that would meet their needs on a budget.

The center is almost completely run on federal and state grants, with community donations making ends meet.

Dick Geasland, Tumbleweeds’ Executive Director, says that the center focuses their efforts on “building trust” between teens and young adults and a system that they may feel has failed them. The center offers emergency housing for ages 12-18, as well as basics, like food and showers, for 18-26 year olds.

According to Geasland,  “Our case managers are more like detectives” as their job entails way more that helping kids stay on track. The center works to help youth obtain original identification, birth certificates or state IDs, which is often lost or never created, as well as connect them with health care providers for a healthy future. The Street outreach street works with current youth center tenants as well as the surrounding community to locate local homeless teens and offer aid, such as hygiene bags and non-perishable foods.

Tumbleweeds got in contact with a former landlord who was able to find and renovate a space to meet their needs and their budget. The new center, located on 16th and McDowell, is almost twice the size of their old facility and includes a 2,500 square foot store front.

Need some screen printing done? Look no further. The center’s store front doubles as a screen printing shop as well as hands on business training and employment for center youth. Geasland also hopes to open part of the center as a performance space to introduce the center to art as well as theater and performance management.

Now, I know what your thinking. “A great non-profit helping out Downtown Phoenix?! How can we help?” Clothes, blankets, sleeping bags, and bottled water can be dropped off at the center which is located at 1419 N. 3rd Street, Suite 102 in Phoenix. You can also visit their website for the most currently list of needs as well as to donate funds.

If you’re planning on donating a turkey this year, you can donate at any of these locations.  

• United Food Bank (East Valley )November 21-23: 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
• Donate at any Fry’s Food Store location by adding your donation amount to your grocery bill. A donation of $2.50 will provide enough food for 17 meals. A donation of $10 will provide enough food for 70 meals.
• Lee Lee International Supermarket is hosting a holiday food drive at all three Arizona locations until Tuesday to benefit two Arizona food banks. Donations from the Chandler location will go to the St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance in Phoenix, which is most in need of beans (canned or dried), canned fruit and vegetables, canned soups, stews, chili and pasta, cereal, diapers, juice, peanut butter, rice and tuna (canned or vacuum packed).

St. Mary’s food bank has a few different locations available to donate:

• They will be collecting food donations at 31st and Thomas until Thursday 8am to 5pm at the Thomas and 31st Location, as well as
• St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance is collecting cash and turkeys 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday at The Stockyards Restaurant, 5009 E. Washington St., Phoenix. The Stockyards Restaurant, Valley of the Sun United Way, Rock Springs Pies, The Celebrity Theater and the Arizona Centennial Chopper will sponsor the drive.

Don’t have time to drop one off? There are plenty of online options for giving.

• Try Buy-A-Bird online! buyabird.org is an online shopping site where you can buy stuffed animal birds which directly donates to the St. Mary’s Food Bank Thanksgiving Drive
• The Real Gift Foundation’s 12th annual Thanksgiving Dinner Drive is taking place now.They plan to deliver 3,650 pre-cooked Thanksgiving dinners to homeless children (and their families) who attend more than 70 public schools throughout Maricopa County. In order to deliver the dinners, The Real Gift Foundation needs to raise more than $80,000. Just $25 dollars will feed a family of six. To donate, visit www.therealgift.org or call (602) 482-5800

Donate today and give back to your community for the holidays.