For its 25th anniversary week, the Art Hallway at the Westerville Community Center has a historical photo wall showing 25 years of construction, popular programs and longtime staff at 350 N. Cleveland Ave. The building officially opened in November 2001. A few weeks after its anniversary week ends, it will host something it has never hosted before: Snowflake Castle, the city's Santa event, which spent past seasons at Everal Barn.
From early November to the first weekend of December, much of the season runs out of one building on North Cleveland Avenue. Uptown's State Street carries the rest. The two only crowd each other on one weekend, and that weekend is worth planning around.
A building that outgrew its first year
The Community Center was built under the city's Parks, Recreation and Open Space plan from 2000 and paid for with a $16 million levy that voters supported. In its first year it offered 72 programs, signed up about 4,000 passholders and counted 390,000 visitors.
According to Westerville Parks & Recreation's anniversary page, it now gets more than 595,000 visitors a year and serves about 12,000 passholders across 2,150 programs, plus summer camps, senior center activities and community events. That works out to roughly three times the passholders and about 30 times the programs it opened with.
Most of the extra room came from an expansion that wrapped up in 2021. It added more than 45,000 square feet, and the city now lists the building at 145,000 square feet. The current facility page lists leisure, lap and warm pools, a children's area and jacuzzi, a fitness room and track, a gym, the Senior Center, five multipurpose rooms that can be reconfigured, childcare, eSports and an indoor climbing wall. Those multipurpose rooms are what make this year's holiday move possible.
Anniversary week, the part still ahead
The celebration started Wednesday, Nov. 4, with cookie decorating, coloring and conversation. Several themed programs are listed for Nov. 6, and most of them require registration through the anniversary page:
- Pickleball, competitive and non-competitive: 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Watercolor workshop: 9 a.m. to noon
- Yoga: 11 a.m. to noon
- Older Adult Lunch: noon to 12:30 p.m., open to Senior Center Program Pass holders only, with tickets sold in person that day
The anniversary page labels a couple of these with a different weekday than the date shows, so check your registration confirmation before you head over.
All week, the center is giving away eight $25 Parks and Recreation gift cards. Five will go to active passholders, one to an enrolled program participant, one to a raffle winner and one to a randomly chosen patron who makes a transaction during celebration week. Free stickers and buttons are handed out at set times, and commemorative 25th anniversary t-shirts are for sale at the front desk.
Why Santa is on North Cleveland this year
Everal Barn is closed for renovations through winter 2027, according to the Snowflake Castle page. The city's activity guide also says there will be no reservations at the Barn or Homestead through 2027. So Snowflake Castle moves to the Community Center from Monday, Nov. 30, through Sunday, Dec. 6. Families still get the same setup: elves help kids build and paint a wooden toy, Santa and Mrs. Claus pose for photos, and Santa's sleigh and the trains are on display.
Tickets cost $15 per child, are sold online only and include a toy and a photo with Santa. Resident registration opened Nov. 2 and open registration followed on Nov. 3, so sessions are on sale now. The city suggests the event for ages 10 and under.
| Day | Morning | Afternoon / Evening |
|---|---|---|
| Monday–Friday | 9–11:30 a.m. | 5–7:30 p.m. |
| Saturday | 9–11:30 a.m. | 4–7 p.m. |
| Sunday | 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. | 2–4:30 p.m. |
You don't need a ticket for the Holiday Craft Area in Multipurpose 5. Anyone can stop in and shop, and proceeds go to the Westerville Senior Association. The Sensory-Friendly Snowflake session runs Sunday, Nov. 29, from 1 to 4 p.m. and requires registration. The event also needs volunteers every day as toy builders, paint helpers, toy wrappers and Santa's helpers. Volunteers must be 16 or older or come with an adult.
The rest of the season on North Cleveland
Snowflake Castle isn't the only holiday event in the building. The free Holiday Kids Maker Market runs Sunday, Nov. 15, from 1 to 3 p.m., with handmade goods and crafts from young entrepreneurs.
The Rudolph Run is on Sunday, Dec. 6, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. at the Westerville Sports Complex, 325 N. Cleveland Ave., on the same road as the Community Center. CityScene's November/December 2026 Westerville calendar lists the Westerville Lions as the contact.
That puts the anniversary week, the Maker Market, the sensory-friendly session, Snowflake Castle, the craft area and the Rudolph Run all within a few hundred address numbers on North Cleveland. In past years Santa had a separate home at Everal Barn.
Where the season hands off to State Street
Uptown has its own calendar, and it starts before Snowflake Castle does:
- Thursday–Sunday, Nov. 19–22: Otterbein University Theatre's Rock of Ages at Fritsche Theatre in Cowan Hall, 30 S. Grove St. Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday.
- Saturday, Nov. 21: The Uptown Merchants Holiday Open House and Snack & Stroll, noon to 5 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 28: Small Business Saturday in Uptown, all day.
- Friday, Dec. 4: The city's Holiday Celebration & Tree Lighting at City Hall Courtyard, 21 S. State St., from 6 to 8 p.m. The Parade of Lights starts at 6:45 p.m. on State Street between Home and Plum streets, and Santa lights the tree at City Hall after the parade.
- Saturday, Dec. 5: The Christmas Parade presented by Good For Westerville, 10 a.m., starting at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, 313 N. State St.
A few holiday pages around town still show last year's dates. The city's own 2026 listing puts the tree lighting on Friday, Dec. 4.
Snowflake Castle runs Nov. 30 through Dec. 6, which means its last three days land on the same weekend as the tree lighting, the Christmas Parade and the Rudolph Run. On each of those days, one Snowflake session overlaps a big event somewhere else:
| Day | Snowflake Castle session | Overlapping event |
|---|---|---|
| Fri., Dec. 4 | 5–7:30 p.m. | Tree Lighting, 6–8 p.m.; parade at 6:45 |
| Sat., Dec. 5 | 9–11:30 a.m. | Christmas Parade, 10 a.m. |
| Sun., Dec. 6 | 2–4:30 p.m. | Rudolph Run, 2:30–4:30 p.m. |
If you want to do both on the same day, book the other Snowflake session. That's 9 to 11:30 a.m. on Friday, 4 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, or 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Dinner across from the tree
Uptown also has a new place to eat this year, right across State Street from City Hall. Fat Arnie's Provecho opened Oct. 1 at 20 S. State St. in the former DiCarlo's Pizza space. NBC4 reported that it's a Latin-inspired spinoff from the owners of Fat Arnie's Sandwich Shop, which still runs inside Rafters Beer Pub on Indianola Avenue in north Columbus.
According to NBC4, the opening menu has empanadas filled with pork, braised beef, chicken and chorizo, along with sandwiches like the "La Morlaca," made with ham, roasted pork and pickled vegetables. There's also a pork belly dish served with Ecuadorian cheese-stuffed potato cakes. The menu is expected to change over time. It's mostly a takeout and delivery spot with limited outdoor seating. NBC4 lists hours as 4 to 9 p.m. midweek, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. A Friday night order of empanadas fits easily before the 6:45 parade.
The same building is also getting The Blind Pour, a bar from longtime friends Chris Beardman and Dino Tripodis. In a July report, NBC4 said the bar plans to serve classic cocktails, spirits, beer and wine, along with food from Fat Arnie's Provecho next door. As of NBC4's October report, it hadn't announced an opening date.
The Community Center went from 72 programs in its first year to 2,150 today, and this December it adds Santa's workshop while Everal Barn is closed. If you'd like to talk through what 25 years of change on North Cleveland and State Street has meant for your part of town, Castro Group is happy to help, in English or Spanish. Let's Connect.
