The 26-foot-tall Mayor’s Christmas Tree in the courthouse square will be even taller this week, after city employees cap it with a magnificent topper, according to Community Coordinator Christina Hayes. City employees will add the custom-made decoration as the City of Great Bend hosts its first Business After Hours, from 5-7 p.m. Thursday. Downtown businesses will stay open until late, in the first of a series of "Thirsty Thursdays."

This won’t be a typical Business After Hours, Hayes said. Typically a Chamber of Commerce event, this one is intended for the entire community. It will also differ from a traditional Business After Hours in that hosts won’t be serving adult beverages or hors d’oeuvres in the courthouse square. But there will be free popcorn and drawings for prizes, and participating downtown businesses will have their own promotions and refreshments as they stay open until 7 p.m. or later.

There will be Christmas carolers, a live remote radio broadcast and a Christmas dance performance, Hayes said. Shoppers will also be encouraged to stick around for skating on the synthetic ice rink in the square, and for the opening night of the Great Bend Community Theatre’s new show, "It’s a Wonderful Life: A Radio Play," at 8 p.m. at the Crest Theater.

"Thirsty Thursdays isn’t just for the holidays," Hayes said. The concept started several months ago at Cornerstone Interiors Distinctive Drapery, 1405 Main, where store owner Debbie Deutsch turned Thursday evenings into shopping events, complete with refreshments. Deutsch said there are always in-store demonstrations and specials on Thursday evenings, such as the wish list program for women, or an upcoming men’s night, where chili will be served.

Other downtown retailers decided to follow Cornerstone’s lead, Hayes said. "They decided it would not only enhance the shopping experience, but it would get people thinking and remembering that stores are open until 7 p.m. or later."