Before visitors tour the several dozen decorated cottages that dot Ogden’s Municipal Gardens on Historic 25th Street, though, someone must throw the switch on the village’s lights. This year, that duty falls to Christmas Village lifer Rick Lovell.

Lovell, the general manager at Young Buick GMC in Layton, was selected as the village’s honorary mayor for the 2024-25 season by the Christmas Village Advisory Committee.

Earlier this month, the Ogden City Council and Mayor Ben Nadolski recognized his appointment and jointly proclaimed that Nov. 30, 2024, would be “Rick Lovell Day” in Ogden.

“I grew up in Ogden — born and raised. So, my very first memories are of getting on your jacket and putting your gloves and scarf on and getting all bundled up to go down and walk around and look at the lights,” Lovell told the Standard-Examiner of the Christmas Village.

“When I was a little kid it was, it felt huge, but it was actually a pretty small gathering of little homes … and it just grew over the years.”

Lovell’s Christmas Village roots run deep. His mother, Nikki, has served as the village’s Mrs. Claus and maintained a cottage for several years. Rick can remember spending many cold nights with her volunteering in the village store.

“I can’t remember a time that my mom wasn’t involved in it,” Lovell said.

Meanwhile, his wife, Nicole, decorates the village’s “Kringle Elfementary” cottage.

History and familial connections notwithstanding, Craig Bielek of the Christmas Village Advisory Committee told the Standard-Examiner that Lovell embodies the qualities that are sought in an honorary mayor.

“The main thing when picking a mayor is we look for people who have contributed time or funding or both to Christmas Village, and Rick has done both,” Bielek said. “He has been a tremendous supporter of our Breakfast with Santa event, always stepping up to the plate to help us with that.”

Bielek also praised Lovell’s work as the village’s “roving salesman” over the years.

In addition to his work with the village, Lovell has also contributed to the local community through his work as a member of the Young Caring for Our Young Foundation board.

The foundation engages in a number of outreach efforts, including its KIND fund, which allows educators to identify students in need of clothes, shoes, coats or other items, after which volunteers are given $150 gift cards to shop for those children.

“It’s incredible how many kids they serve,” Lovell said. “Really, it fills your heart to go out and shop for these kids.”

For his part, Lovell describes his selection as honorary mayor as a “fun honor.” And, as ever, he looks forward to being involved with the village, which will include more than 60 cottages this year.

However, what he’s most looking forward to is experiencing everything with another generation of his family.

“This is the first time that I’ll have a grandkid to actually walk around that’s old enough to really appreciate the little houses and all the lights,” Lovell said. “So, this is kind of a fun year for me to be involved, because this little one will be on my hip, which is kind of cool.”

Lovell says his mom is looking to retire from her post as Mrs. Claus following this year’s event. But he maintains that his family will continue its longstanding involvement.

“Nothing will change,” he said. “She’s passing the torch. She may be stepping down from Mrs. Claus, but my wife and even now we’ve got my mom’s grandchild, my nieces involved. So, there are actually four generations now that have gone through and done work at the Christmas Village, which is pretty neat.”

The Christmas Village will be open until Jan. 1, 2025, from 5-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 p.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

The village’s Mini-Polar Express Train, featuring a glow-in-the-dark Christmas tunnel, will be located in the northwest corner of the Municipal Gardens and will run Monday through Friday from 6-9 p.m. and Saturdays from 5-9 p.m.

Breakfast with Santa will be held at Union Station at 9 a.m. Dec. 14.

For more information and a full schedule of events, go to https://www.ogdencity.com/452/Christmas-Village/.