Joe Skodny has a childhood memory of Christmas in Lorain that has stuck with him.

He recalls riding down Broadway as snowflakes fell and Christmas music played. Swag Christmas decorations hung overhead, and each and every storefront was done up in grand holiday fashion.

“I remember thinking as a little kid, ‘God, this must be Christmas heaven. This must be Christmas wonderland here,’ ” Skodny said.

Around that time — the mid ’60s — an “economic nuclear bomb” went off in Lorain, Skodny said, and the downtown Lorain he loved, as well as Christmas in that beloved downtown, would never be the same.

Skodny and his family set out to bring a little of the magic back a year ago, hitting up local merchants to donate money to decorate downtown.

“We got a great response from that,” Skodny said.

They raised $4,300 — enough to decorate along Broadway and put displays in 13 storefronts.

In the early months of 2009, Skodny was approached by some like-minded Lorain residents who floated an idea — that Lorain should have a “Christmas council.”

The Downtown Lorain Christmas Decorating Council was born, and Saturday will be the culmination of the group’s yearlong efforts — a celebration Skodny says will be the biggest holiday kickoff event in a three- or four-county area and the biggest celebration kickoff in Lorain in 40 years or more.

The group’s projects are varied but all have a common theme — bringing Christmas magic to downtown Lorain.

Skodny set out to expand on the 13 storefronts that were decorated last year. He set a goal of 30 and wound up with 63.

Lots of business owners jumped on board, Skodny said. If buildings were vacant, the council sought, and often got, permission from their owners to go in and decorate.

Another project is Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen, a Christmas fantasy land of sorts for kids, where they can meet Mr. and Mrs. Claus, have a cookie, make a craft, hear a story and more.

City Hall will be adorned with a musical light show Skodny says is sure to wow.

A Christmas shop has come to 737 Broadway for the holiday season, and Lorain’s legendary Faroh’s chocolates will be back for the month as well.

And to kick it all off is the biggest “Light Up Lorain” event just about anyone in Lorain will be able to remember 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday.

It starts with a parade at 4 and is followed by the city’s annual Light up Lorain festivities, with the mayor flipping the switch at Veterans park. There’ll also be fireworks, live toy soldiers and other characters, food vendors, trackless train rides, horse-drawn carriage rides, a trolley shuttle to Lakeview Park to see the holiday lights there, the unveiling of the City Hall musical light show and the opening day of Mrs. Claus’ Kitchen.

“Our mission is to bring joy and hope and excitement and pride back to downtown Lorain,” Skodny said. We want to “create something that’s magical and fun and makes people want to come down here for the holiday season.”

The committee had a budget of $43,500 to accomplish that mission — money that came from donations, sponsorships and a little bit of grant money from the city, Skodny said. And that doesn’t count tons of in-kind donations, including free use of the 3,000-square-foot Broadway storefront that houses Mrs. Claus’ kitchen.

In the end, Skodny says he hopes the committee has brought a lot more than decorations to downtown Lorain.

“It’s about bringing hope that we can be better,” Skodny said. “We can be a better downtown. We can be a better city.”

And Skodny has high hopes for the future.

“We hope in three years from now 5,000 people are coming — or maybe 10,000,” he said. “I’m certain that once the word gets out about how spectacular everything is down here, the word will spread and more people will come.”

Contact Rona Proudfoot at 329-7124 or rproudfoot@chroniclet.com.

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