Vernon's first ever Frostival was a big success, so much so that the Downtown Vernon Association (DVA) is looking to bring the event back to kick off winter again next year.

Peter Kaz, with the DVA, said "thousands" of people attended the event that lit up four blocks of 30th Avenue for four hours on Friday, Nov. 29. Kaz said the peak hours were from 5-7 p.m.

"It was phenomenal. The amount of people online that are talking about it, the amount of people that talked about it that night and were thanking us, it was very heartwarming," Kaz said.

Frostival featured a stage with live music, plus different types of entertainment throughout the night. There was a food truck area, tonnes of vendors, photo op areas, choirs, fire jugglers, DJs, solo musicians, a fire truck, ornament-making stations, face painting and plenty of Christmas lights and holiday cheer along the street. 

It was designed to be an event that kicks off the Christmas season, replacing the Downtown Light Up that hasn't happened for a number of years. Kaz said the Frostival name drew a lot of appreciation, as people are happy to have a unique name for a light-up event. 

And the event saw enough love to make it a recurring celebration, said Kaz. 

"Definitely, Frostival will be coming back next year, according to what we've been hearing from the public and our businesses."

Frostival also kicked off the DVA's Christmas Saturdays. On the four Saturdays leading up to Christmas, the DVA is offering free parking along with free photos of Santa, elves, carollers, musicians and Christmas shopping opportunities. The first one was on Nov. 30, the day after Frostival, and three more Christmas Saturdays are coming Dec. 7, 14 and 21. 

On Dec. 7 the DVA is also hosting a Free Hot Chocolate Challenge.