Lincoln Christmas Parade fills the night with ‘Christmas Magic’

 

[December 08, 2018] 

LINCOLN 

On Thursday evening the Logan County Tourism Bureau hosted the annual Downtown Lincoln Christmas Parade. The weather was somewhat cooperative in that the snow from earlier in the day had stopped and it wasn’t windy. But BRRR….it was cold! With the temperatures hovering below freezing there were no bands in this year’s parade, but that didn’t make the quality of the show any less wonderful.

The theme the parade this year was “Christmas Magic.” The theme was very well executed in the 75 entries participating. The judges for the parade noted that some of the decisions they had to make were pretty difficult.

The Tourism Bureau Choice Award went to the Crossway Church of Lincoln with its holiday warm gingerbread theme. The judges agreed that hands down this was the float that should win the Tourism Award. They loved the structure itself and the decorations of lollypops, gum drops, the trim on the roof and the white “snow” on the eaves that actually looked like the icing we all enjoy on gingerbread houses.

The other choices were not always so easy, but in the end the judges made the following decisions:

Best Float – Community Action Partnership of Central Illinois.

Best Band – Zion Lutheran Church - chosen because they sang the entire route and there were no band entries.

Best Adherence to the overall theme – Copper Creek Village.

Other fun entries included an antique John Deere tractor with a cute driver, and Action Jackson dressed as a Christmas elf with his decorated lawn mower.

Elaine Aue was at the head of the parade serving as this year’s Grand Marshal, and the 2018 Logan County Fair Queen Molly Schempp and Little Miss Logan County Kylee Fulk were smiling and waving all the way.

In spite of the cold, a number of people came out for the parade and afterward more than forty children made their way to the Lincoln Depot to visit with Santa and Mrs. Claus.

An interesting side story about Santa is that from his mother-in-law – yes, Santa has a mother-in-law. Each year, Santa’s mother-in-law works all year long to compile a selection of items that can be presented to children as they visit Santa at the Lincoln parade. Items include crochet hats and small toys. Last year those items were handed out during the parade. This year, they were handed out at the Lincoln Depot.

Santa’s mother in law, referred to by Santa and the elves as “Grandma Claus” does this because she wants children to receive a small gift during their visit, but the elves are so busy making toys for Christmas that she decided she could help out by doing this and not placing an additional burden on the elves.

Everyone seemed to enjoy their time at the Lincoln Depot. The trip to the historic train station was made all the more pleasant by a group of young adults from Lincoln Christian University. The students had reached out to Tourism Director Morgan Gleason and said they wanted to do something special this year. They wanted to provide hot chocolate and cookies at the depot. It was a great opportunity for the students to do something of value and it would definitely benefit those who had been standing outside in the cold during the parade.

Gleason was delighted to have the young people come, noting that it is exactly that kind of community involvement that is needed in order to make any event successful.

The students came out with warm beverages and sweet treats. While some manned the refreshment area, others stood outside the depot, opening doors for folks as they came in and greeting everyone with a warm and happy “Merry Christmas!”

As the night wound down and families began to make their way home, there was no doubt that the Lincoln Christmas Parade would be a very nice memory for many.

[Nila Smith]

Post Script: Grandma Claus is actually Barbara Morgan of Paris. She is Wendy Bell’s mother (and indeed, Santa's mother-in-law). She is so proud of what Wendy and “Santa Claus” do for children everywhere, and she wanted to be a part of their efforts by making and giving gifts for all the children. Thanks Barbara for your generosity.