What to Expect at Our It’s A Wonderful Night 20th Anniversary Event

Our favorite event of the year is just around the corner – kick off the holiday season with a night full of fun at It’s A Wonderful Night, a community shopping event! Here’s what you can expect at this year’s event…

By: Niki | October 26, 2018

On Sunday, November 18, join us for our 20th Anniversary of It’s A Wonderful Night – a community shopping event to kick-off the holiday season! This is an event we look forward to each year – the mall is decked out in holiday decor, Santa makes his first appearance of the year, local performance groups fill the mall with holiday cheer, there are tons of exclusive savings to kick-start your holiday shopping, and the best part – it’s all for a fantastic cause! 100% of the ticket proceeds for this event benefit nearly 60 local fundraising organizations.

Here are all of the details you need to know about this year’s event:

Ticket Information

Tickets for the event are $5 a person (kids 6 and under are free!). You can purchase tickets at West Acres – at Guest Services and the Mall Office – or participating organizations. 100% of these proceeds go directly back to the participating organizations who make such a difference in our community! Tickets will also be available at the door the night of the event.

Participating Organizations

When purchasing a ticket for this event, you are benefiting over 50 local charitable organizations! See the full list of participating organizations, here.

Entertainment

Milk & Cookies with Santa

Santa is back in town! Join him for milk and cookies for his first appearance at the mall for the holiday season! Get your photo taken and enjoy balloon animals and face painting for the kiddos.

Wine & Beer

We are excited to welcome back Maple River Winery, Fargo Brewing Company, and Junkyard Brewing as a part of this year’s event! Enjoy wine samplings and beer samplings and pours (for those 21+) from these local businesses.

Holiday Performances

Enjoy performances by these local groups:

Apollo Strings
Illuminate Ensemble from NDSU
FM Youth Choir from Bennett Elementary
and more!

Local Pop-Up Shops & Experiences

Enjoy shopping at one of our many holiday carts & kiosks that are officially open for the holiday season, including some new faces like local apparel company, Dak & Co., Pride of Dakota, and Real Good Bath & Body, and more!

Gift Making & Crafting

Join Make Room at their pop-up booth and in their store for crafts and creations, including drop-in gift making!

Exclusive Savings

Ready to get a head start on your holiday shopping (or just looking to treat yourself)? The night is filled with exclusive savings at many of our stores! Get a full list of exclusive discounts, here.

Door Prizes

How does a $1,000 Grand Prize shopping spree sound? That is just one of the many amazing door prizes up for grabs at this year’s event! Here are a few more to look forward to:

West Acres mall cards worth $25 to $500
7 quart Cast Iron Roasting Pan by LeCreuset from Creative Kitchen
Best Sellers Collection from Hickory Farms
A giant Teddy Bear from Legacy Toys & giant gummy bear from Legacy Sweets
An NDSU Bison jersey
Gift cards from various stores
Holiday gift sets
Store merchandise – anything from Under Armour hoodies to Bluetooth speakers

To see a full list of door prizes, click here.

The History & Impact of the Event

This is more than a community shopping event, it’s an opportunity to give back to local organizations, all while celebrating the start to the holiday season. In our 20th year, we have over 50 participating charitable organizations – many of which come back year after year to sell tickets or volunteer a the event.

On average, nearly 8,000 to 10,000 shoppers attend the event, which raises $40,000+ for local organizations each year! After this year, the lifetime total of dollars raised will total more than $750,000, that directly goes back to our community. For a night full of fun, your attendance supports these organizations that make a big difference in our community!

Come out for the night with friends and family, grab dinner and kick-off your holiday gift buying, or simply enjoy the festive ambiance or relax with a pedicure all while supporting over 60 local fundraising organizations. It’s our favorite night of the year!

Click here to mark your calendar, and for more information on the event, click here.

Get a head start on planning your shopping game plan – click here to see the map of the event!

Niki

I have the privilege of being on the amazing Marketing, PR and Fashion team as the Digital Marketing Manager at West Acres. When I am not managing our social and digital platforms and brainstorming content ideas, I am the woman behind (and sometimes in front of) the camera – creating content and working with the media to create segments to introduce the latest trends! When I’m not at the mall, you can find me watching “Friends,” eating ice cream by the carton, spending time with my family and friends, feeding my Pinterest addiction or crossing off destinations on my traveling bucket list.