Brick festivities

Portland Main Street Connect spearheaded an effort to refurbish Brick Alley.

On Sunday, the site will host its first activity.

Jay Small Business is leading the inaugural event — Christmas in the Brick Alley — in partnership with Portland Main Street Connect from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

“It’s really exciting to see that other people are stepping up and want to be a part of the vision,” said Reda Theurer-Miller of Portland Main Street Connect, which secured funding through Portland Redevelopment Commission to redo the last remaining brick alley in the city. “And their vision, in turn, is similar to ours, and that is about supporting one another and promoting not only the things that Jay Small Business does, Portland Main Street Connect, but also everything going on in the community regardless of who is spearheading the event or activity.”

Sunday’s inaugural event in Brick Alley — it is located north of Community Resource Center on the west side of Meridian Street — will feature ice sculptor Stephan Koch, a live nativity scene and a visit from The Grinch, as well as s’mores, hot dogs, coffee, hot chocolate and music.

The idea for the ice sculptor originally came from Gary Clark of Altered Style in Portland after he saw one at an event in Richmond, said Missy Puterbaugh of Jay Small Business. She remembered Clark talking about the experience and set out to find a sculptor when the group of 14 area businesses set out to put together a Christmas event.

Stephan Koch, a Yorktown resident and owner of Indiana Ice Studio, will do a three-block demonstration to create a sculpture about 5 feet tall.

“Depending on the weather, it could last a day, or it could last two weeks,” said Puterbaugh.

West Walnut Church of Christ is providing the scenery and costumes for the live nativity, and Fisher Packing has donated hot dogs for the event.

“It’s to bring the whole family together,” said Puterbaugh, noting that representatives from Remember When, Glass Bonsai, Sharlette’s Fudgery and Candies, Ja-Mar TV, Appliance and Bedding, Medler’s Furniture, Altered Syle, Grandma-n-Me Quiltin, Redkey Junktion and Redkey Blacksmith will be working at the event. “And it’s about us as Jay Small Business giving back to the community and bringing everybody together.”

Jay Small Business and the Jeff Hall family have been working to get Brick Alley ready for the event. Some decorative fencing has been put up and Christmas trees, purchased from Portland Fire Department, will be lit up for the event.

“It’s just a really nice, clean look for Brick Alley,” said Theurer-Miller. “They’ve taken a situation and created a really beautiful look.”

“We’re just trying to make it a little more Christmasy back there,” added Puterbaugh.

The event is a part of a busy weekend of holiday-themed activities as Jay County Civic Theatre wraps up its sold-out production of “Elf the Musical” with one show tonight and two Saturday, Jay County Junior-Senior High School holds its band and choir Christmas concert at 2 p.m. Sunday and Winterfest at the Fairgrounds featuring carriage rides, cookie decorating, ornament making, live music and a visit from Santa Claus from 5 to 8 p.m. Sunday at Jay County Fairgrounds.

Puterbaugh and Theurer-Miller said the ultimate goal of this weekend’s Christmas event is to work with other activities going on in the community to make Jay County a destination.