How do you turn something as classic as taking a candlelit stroll and singing holiday tunes, and keep it fresh and exciting after decades of tradition?

For starters, how about adding a flash mob? A large, choreographed dance routine will take place in front of Woody’s Pizza — just one of the new entertainment options available at this year’s Candlelight Walk.

The fun begins at 6 p.m. on Friday with pre-walk events like the flash mob taking place around downtown Golden. At 6:30 p.m. the public gathers at the top of the hill, 15th Street and Washington Avenue, and begins to make its way down by candlelight. When the group reaches the Golden Visitors Center, Santa and the mayor of Golden will greet the crowd, and the switch will be thrown, illuminating the holiday lights strung up along Clear Creek.

“It’s a sea of lights coming down the hill. We really come together as one big community,” said Olde Golden Christmas organizer Carol Ann Bowles.

Bowles said she has helped organize the candlelight walk for 20 years now, and seen it grow tremendously.

“I used to have to beg to get people to participate, and now I’m having to turn groups away,” Bowles said.

Among the new attractions for this year’s walk is a drum line percussion Stomp-like performance planned at the base of the hill by Golden High School graduates, and brass band music courtesy of the Colorado School of Mines.

Also new this year, Golden Mayor Marjorie Sloan has asked for one lucky Golden child to help her and Santa to flip the big switch to turn on the creek lights, at the end of the candlelight walk.

“This is a great tradition, and the chamber has been involved from the start,” said Golden Chamber President Gary Wink.

Even as the modern event continues to evolve, Golden historian Richard Gardner said the roots of the event mark this year as its 40th anniversary.

“It starts out as Victorian Christmas in ‘72. It was at the Astor House, where they had a bonfire,” Gardner said. “It’s evolved since then, but it’s still a great event.”

For more information, and a complete list of events for the Candlelight Walk and Olde Golden Christmas, go to www.goldenchamber.org.