By Angela T. Koenig
Enquirer contributor

CLEVES - This weekend, this tiny village hosts its annual holiday street festival, Cleves Christmas in the Village. The event, now in its 15th year, draws people from around the Tristate.

"It basically doubles our population for the weekend,'' Mayor Joe Whitton said of the thousands who descend on Cleves, pop. 2,709.

The two-day festival starts at 10 a.m. Friday, with a few low-key activities, such as face painting for the kids, baked goods and lunches at the Senior Center, which is temporarily renamed the North Pole Cafe.

The festival starts to really get going, though, at around 5 p.m., with carriage rides, fire engine rides, a miniature train display and a music-filled evening that lasts until 10 p.m. Festivities begin all over again at 9:30 a.m. the next morning and continue to 9 p.m. Saturday.

Dozens of crafters set up booths along the sidewalks, and inside the Senior Center, and storefronts are open for business. There are puppet and magic shows, live entertainment and old-fashioned popcorn stands.

Five local bands and many choruses will perform this year. The bands will be from Oak Hills High School, Taylor High School, Elder High School and the College of Mt. St. Joseph. The Oak Hills High School Band kicks off the musical entertainment beginning at 6 p.m. on Friday. A festival dedication and a tree-lighting ceremony immediately follow. Pictures with Santa, in the Municipal Building, are from 7:30-10 p.m.

Jim Moore, one of a 20-member committee that works all year to plan the event, said that part of the proceeds go toward publishing an annual almanac of sorts, the Valley Journal. Advertising, he said, pays for entertainment costs and decorations.

The 2001 festival was Cleves' biggest yet, Mr. Moore said, and generated about $6,000 for this year's budget.

Most of the funds went to purchase 15 large, illuminated snowflakes and candy canes to line the streets at a cost of about $300 each.

For more information, or to receive a detailed fax of events, call the Cleves administrative offices at 941-5127.