Holiday Cheer Glows in Brookfield

A tree-lighting ceremony held at the Corners of Brookfield on Saturday brought together hundreds of community members to celebrate the holidays by drinking hot chocolate, taking pictures with Anna and Elsa, listening to live music, chatting with Santa, shopping and spending time with friends and family.

“This is the first lighting of the Corners since COVID, so I’m thrilled that it’s back,” said FOX6 Morning Anchor Nikola Junewicz, who emceed the holiday festivities. “The spirit of this place is finally on display tonight.”

Nine-year-old Quinn Holtackers and her 6-year-old sister, Ivy, attended the event with their mom, Kate, and some friends, using the celebration as an excuse to have a “girls’ day.” The girls stood in line to meet Anna and Elsa, each carrying a shopping bag holding their new Christmas dresses.

“They’re most excited about Anna and Elsa,” said Kate, “and I’m glad to be getting some Christmas shopping done. There’s a lot to do here so I think we’ll stick around until they light the tree.”

The Corners of Brookfield town center and outdoor mall is home to clothing stores, restaurants, a coffee shop, a movie theater, a central department store and above each building, five stories of apartments. The center hosts community events year round, like outdoor movie nights, food truck festivals, art shows and various seasonal celebrations like the tree lighting.

Ten-year-old Claire Waterman and her neighbor Ryan Fasciotti worked the event, running a hot cocoa stand outside of Indulgence Chocolatiers, the mall’s chocolate store, which is owned by Claire’s mom, Julie Waterman.

“This is our first hot chocolate stand we’ve done, but I think we sure would want to do more,” said Claire as she handed a paper cup filled with cocoa to a shopper. “It’s fun to talk to everyone and give out hot chocolate on a cold day.”

The event, put on by Discover Brookfield, the Town of Brookfield and the Corners of Brookfield, began at 3:30 p.m. Guests could hear live music from the Wisconsin Hills Middle School band, local band Ocean Rush and the Bach Chamber Choir all around the mall.

“For a lot of folks, this is the first time we’ve been able to get together like this in quite a while,” said Junewicz. “So just seeing everybody come together as a community, and just celebrate that joy, that giving, that cheer. It’s been wonderful.”

At 5 p.m., Junewicz took the stage to announce the tree lighting. Families moved from the photo-ops, fireplaces and craft stations to circle around the 30-foot tree. Children sat on the shoulders of their parents in the crowd, waving glow sticks and counting down.

“It’s a little chilly,” said Junewicz, “but there’s a lot of warm hearts here.”