Horse drawn carriage rides to be offered in downtown Lincoln this weekend and next

[December 15, 2017] 

LINCOLN

Beginning this evening at 4 p.m. a new attraction will be offered in the downtown Lincoln area. Jason and Keri Erickson will have their beautiful white carriage on the square decked out for Christmas offering free rides (tips accepted) to anyone who wishes to enjoy this new experience.

The carriage rides will be offered tonight (Friday, December 15th) from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

On Saturday, December 16th rides will be offered from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and again from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

On Sunday, December 17th, rides will be offered from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Riders are asked to meet the carriage on Pekin Street at the Arcade walk-through. The ride will be around the Logan County Courthouse Square.

The pair will return on Christmas weekend to offer rides on Friday evening, December 22nd from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. and again on Saturday December 23rd from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

The Erickson’s appeared before the Lincoln City Council on Tuesday, December 12th, seeking permission and support for the weekend rides.

Keri Erickson explained that the couple have just recently moved to the Lincoln area from Minnesota. In their former location, they offered the rides in a couple of communities with much success. She said in those instances, the individual cities had paid the expense of having the rides so they could be offered free of charge to downtown shoppers during the holiday season.

Erickson said she had contacted the Logan County Tourism Bureau who had responded very favorably to the suggestion of the weekend rides.

Cris Wibben of the Tourism Bureau was on hand for the city council meeting and confirmed that she had spoken with the Erickson’s, and she felt that there was great potential for downtown businesses. It was noted that this was short notice for the proposed program, but there was a vision that if it goes well this year, the rides could continue next year at the beginning of the holiday season and be coupled with other special offerings to help drive shoppers to the downtown area.

During the council meeting, aldermen were enthused for the idea of having the rides, but challenged with how to move forward in a proper fashion when it was not a voting night.

City Administrator Bob Mahrt said the council could do a “straw vote” for approval, aldermen agreed and the request from the Erickson’s was granted.

There was discussion about the payment for the rides. The Ericksons had said that in the previous location, the communities had paid for the rides. The city was not prepared to offer that payment for this year, but the Erickson’s said they would do it anyway, without any payment for the next two weekends in order to measure interest.

The Erickson’s were asked if they had a Certificate of Liability for insurance and they said they did and would provide that to the city.

They were also asked about waste removal. Keri Erickson said that the carriage they plan to use has a “catcher” so waste removal will not be an issue.

The white carriage will seat approximately four to six people and is drawn by a single horse. The couple also has a larger wagon, designed to seat about 15 people that is drawn by a team of horses. Keri explained that when they use the larger wagon, they do work to clean up the waste from the horses, but because they are often working in traffic, it sometimes becomes a challenge to get that done.

Another challenge was what permit the city would issue for the rides. On Wednesday, Mahrt contacted the Logan County Tourism Bureau saying that the city could issue an “Amusements Rides” permit to the Erickson’s at no cost, if they had a not-for-profit sponsor. The tourism bureau took an email vote and approved the sponsorship.

In addition, five Lincoln businesses, Michelle Bauer – Country Financial, Community Action of Central Illinois, Flossie & Delzina’s, ME Realty, and Spirited Republic partnered to offer financial support to the Erickson’s in lieu of a payment for services by the city.

During the city council meeting, many of the aldermen agreed that offering the carriage rides would be a nice accent for the holiday season. All are anxious to see the success of the project over the next two weekends and are hopeful it will develop into something bigger and better next year.

[Nila Smith]