On Woodin Avenue, Plaid Friday Runs on a Clock
The Christmas tree at Emerson Street and Woodin Avenue lights up at 6 p.m. on Friday, November 27. Most of the steepest storewide discounts a few doors away are gone long before then. Culinary Apple opens its Plaid Friday at 6:30 a.m. with 30% off, and by 8 a.m. that has dropped to 25%. If family is staying with you in Hawk's Meadow that weekend, the timing matters more than the list of shops. Most of the valley's holiday kickoff fits into a few blocks of downtown Chelan over about 48 hours, and each shop on Woodin peaks at its own hour.
If the early Friday is on, a big Thursday dinner is the hard part. Campbell's Resort is holding its annual Thanksgiving buffet on November 26 with two seatings, 1 to 3 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. You can book the historic Bungalow Café or the larger Centennial Ballroom, and Eventbrite lists a seating at $65. For a meal at home, Campbell's also sells a Thanksgiving Takeout Turkey Box made by its kitchen, so dinner happens around your own table without the cooking or cleanup.
The 4 p.m. seating ends at 6. That still leaves an early night before a Friday that, per the Chamber's Plaid Friday page, starts "bright and early at 6am."
Plaid Friday is the Chamber's name for the day after Thanksgiving. The plaid stands for local businesses woven together, and wearing it gets you a better deal at some shops. On Woodin Avenue, several stores tie their discounts to the clock instead of running one sale all day. Here is how the steepest ones drop off:
| Shop | First window | By midday | Late day |
|---|---|---|---|
| Culinary Apple, 109 E Woodin | 30% off, 6:30 to 8 a.m. | 20% off, 10 a.m. to noon | 10% off, noon to 5:30 p.m. |
| Chelan Toys & Sweets, 121 E Woodin | 30% off plus a $25 gift card on $100 or more, 7 to 8 a.m. | 20% off from 9 a.m. | 40% to 50% off mystery items, 3 to 6 p.m. |
| Lake Life, 146 E Woodin | 40% off, 7 to 8 a.m. | 20% off, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. | Happy hour drinks and buy one, get one 50% off, 3 to 6 p.m. |
| Posh Boutique, Woodin Ave | 40% off storewide, 9 to 10 a.m. | 25% off, noon to 1 p.m. | 20% off, 1 to 6 p.m. |
The Starry Owl at 133B E Woodin runs its apparel discount the other way. It starts at 50% off at 8 a.m., drops to 20% from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., then climbs back to 50% for the last hour, 4 to 5 p.m. Everything other than apparel stays at 20% off all day. Along with the 3 to 6 p.m. mystery items at Chelan Toys & Sweets, that makes it one of two stops on the street worth saving for late afternoon.
Whaley's General Store at 206 E Woodin also changes rates partway through the day. Regular-priced women's apparel is 35% off from 9 a.m. to noon and 25% off from noon to 6 p.m. Honeybee Boutique, around the corner at 116 S Emerson St, runs early-bird specials from 9 to 11 a.m. and storewide discounts until 4 p.m.
Other shops keep one deal all day, so they can wait until after lunch:
Chelan Toys & Sweets gives shoppers in plaid a free hot cocoa or cider, which helps on a cold 7 a.m. sidewalk.
Apart from those two late markdowns, the afternoon specials are mostly about drinks. WineGirl Wines now pours inside Lake Life at 146 E Woodin. It has 10% off all wine from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Lake Life's happy hour runs from 3 to 6 p.m. in the same space. Layla's Bar + Kitchen at 142-B E Woodin opens at noon with $10 vanilla bean hot toddies and stays open until 10 p.m.
On the south shore side of town, Siren Song Wines at 635 S Lakeshore Rd is open noon to 8 p.m. It has its Grand Cru food and wine pairing at 50% off and 30% off three Grand Cru bottles: the 2020 Cabernet Franc from Chantal's Block, the 2018 Syrah from Holly's Block and the 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon from Jordan's Block. Of everyone on the Plaid Friday list, Siren Song is the stop on your side of town, and it's open until 8 p.m.
Everything downtown that day leads to one corner. At 5 p.m., BassICally plays a short concert with caroling at the Christmas tree on Emerson and Woodin. At 6 p.m., Santa parades through town and finishes at the tree for the lighting. The Historic Downtown Chelan Association lists the Santa Parade and Tree Lighting as an event that closes downtown streets. If you plan to drive in from the hillside, give yourself extra time to park before 5.
The same corner, next to the Chelan Museum, is one of two Santa Mail drop-offs. Letters dropped there by December 19 go on to the North Pole. If the kids are writing letters Thursday night, the parade gives them a reason to deliver them in person.
Saturday, November 28, opens with Santa's Pancake Breakfast at Campbell's Resort, served from 8 a.m. to noon in the Bungalow Café and Centennial Ballroom. Santa is there from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. It costs $35 for adults and $22 for ages 6 to 12, and children under 6 eat free. Reservations are highly recommended, though walk-ins are welcome. The kids' craft corner has ornament making and letters to Santa, a second shot at the Santa Mail box for anyone who missed it Friday.
Small Business Saturday deals are smaller than Friday's early-hour discounts, so a quick walk down Woodin covers them:
At 3 p.m., the Ruby Theatre at 135 E Woodin shows Arthur Christmas for free, sponsored by Bear Foods. It's the first of four free Saturday holiday matinees. Elf plays December 5, another holiday movie runs December 12, and The Polar Express plays December 19. The theater is a block from the tree, so a breakfast-to-matinee Saturday never takes you off Woodin.
After Saturday, the holiday events spread across the valley. The Chamber's Lights at the Lake driving tour starts on South Lakeshore Drive, heads into downtown Chelan, goes up through neighborhoods into downtown Manson, and loops past the wineries and vineyards. Manson's Village of Lights and North Poleon Winter Hunt opens November 28 and is listed through February 13.
Up the lake at Tipsy Canyon Winery, Tipsy Tree Town runs from November 27 to January 24. Votes on the decorated trees cost $1, and the proceeds go to the Chelan Valley Housing Trust. The season ends back in Chelan with New Year's Eve fireworks over Don Morse Park at 9 p.m. on December 31. You can watch from shore or from the Lady of the Lake.
Thanksgiving weekend is the one stretch of the season when it all happens on a few downtown blocks. Starting at 7 a.m. Friday gets you the 30% and 40% storewide discounts before they drop, and a 4 p.m. stop at The Starry Owl catches its apparel back at 50% off before the walk to the tree.
If you're hosting family in Hawk's Meadow over Thanksgiving and want help sorting out which downtown morning to plan around, Jessie Simmons grew up on these blocks and is glad to share where her own Plaid Friday starts.
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