by Carrie Moritz, Gazette
Hometown Christmas will look different this year. For the safety of all during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Garretson Commercial Club has canceled the Annual Community Breakfast and any/all in-person activities.
The Parade of Lights is still scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12. Commercial Club President John Brinkman has asked that people follow Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines for masking and social distancing while enjoying the parade downtown, keeping 6 feet apart in family clusters. Vehicles in the parade will gather at Devil’s Gulch Entrance and will drive from City Hall to Second Street by the school, then will turn back toward the Fire Department on Center Ave. Though it’s not part of the official parade route, Brinkman also encourages anyone who wants to take their mobile light display along city streets to residential areas to do so. People can tour the town to see personal light displays and of course, after the parade, people can get into their own automobiles and enjoy the Light the Park festivities.
One exciting addition to Light the Park is “Letters to Santa,” where children of all ages can write a letter to Santa and drop it in the mailbox located near the bathhouse. All envelopes with a return address will receive a response from Santa before the holidays. Letters will only be accepted until Saturday, December 12.
If the weather permits, Santa plans to visit the park and wave to park-goers after the Parade of Lights on December 12. Due to the pandemic, visitations will be discouraged, but Santa said he’s excited to see all the happy faces of good little girls and boys. The team is still accepting volunteers to help open and close the gates during December. Interested volunteers can visit http://GrowGarretson.com/light-the-park.
Any proceeds to Light the Park will be going towards the shade structure that is planned near the playground at Split Rock Park. A donation box is located at the entrance to the park, and an on-line donation link is also available at the web address above. Visitors to the website can see a list of sponsors and decorators, and is being published in this newspaper on the back page in a thank you ad this week.
The final winners of the Hometown Christmas Shop Local drawings will be drawn this Saturday as well. Last week’s winners were: Tanya Facile, Trista Vandersnick, Beth Braa, Kristen Johnson.
