Photo Provided Children skate on the synthetic ice rink provided by All Year Sports Galaxy last year in front of the Belmont County Courthouse in St. Clairsville.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — Santa Claus is coming to St. Clairsville this weekend.

On Saturday, Santa will be lighting up the large Christmas tree that will be erected in front of the Belmont County Heritage Museum next to the Belmont County Courthouse along Main Street.

Festivities begin at 4 p.m. and will conclude when Santa flips the switch, turning the community known as “paradise on the hill” into a winter wonderland.

St. Clairsville Area Chamber of Commerce Director Wendy Anderson said she believes this year’s event will top past tree lighting ceremonies. It will feature free ice skating on a synthetic rink, several inflatables, entertainment from various local dance studios and DJ Tommy playing classic Christmas hits.

“This year’s entertainment is off the charts,” Anderson said. “There’s somebody new dancing or singing every 15 minute.”

She said that a few of the new additions to this year’s event will be trackless trains that will provide rides up and down Main Street and a live reindeer.

Events and Administrative Coordinator Lisa Kindler said there will be several local food trucks and a “vendor village” with over 20 vendors selling various holiday crafts and baked goods throughout Main Street during the event.

Anderson added that the event will be similar to the Halloween Bash the chamber hosted in October with the St. Clairsville Police Department closing Main Street for the duration of the event to ensure the safety of attendees.

“They’re going to shut the street down at noon because we need to set up the ice skating rink,” she said.

The ice skating rink is a fully synthetic rink provided by All Year Sports Galaxy, which is owned by former Olympian and Wheeling Nailer Vadim “The Russian Rocket” Slivchenko.

Anderson added that due to the response to the ice rink at past events, the chamber decided to rent a rink that is 8 feet larger than in past years. In addition to the rink, skate rentals are also free for the attendees.

“We’re going to have more volunteers this year than we’ve ever had before,” Anderson said.

She added that she encourages attendees to park behind the Belmont County Courthouse or behind the St. Clairsville Public Library.

“It’s just going to be a great place to come out on Saturday night for families and to share this experience with them. That’s what we’re excited about, to be able to do something like this,” Anderson said.