 One of their most successful ventures has been The Art of Wine,
which they host each year during the annual art and balloon fest.
They are also involved with the Railsplitter Antique Auto Club in
organizing downtown car shows and having fundraisers for worthy
causes.
This year they added an event during the Abraham Lincoln National
Railsplitting Festival: a barbecue cook-off on the square, and for a
first-year venture it was very successful.
Most recently, the organization hosted its annual Trick-or-Treat
with the Mayor, as children dressed in their Halloween costumes went
trick-or-treating door-to-door to a total of 20 downtown businesses,
all the while being led by Mayor Keith Snyder.
While it may be hard to believe that the Christmas season is upon
us, Main Street Lincoln and the downtown merchants are fired up and
ready to go with a special "open house" weekend commencing this
Friday evening.
The weekend of activity will begin shortly after 5 p.m. Friday
when Santa himself will make a personal appearance on the downtown
square. On the courthouse lawn will be a special Christmas tree
donated by Jeff and Val Cooper of Angel Valley Tree Farm in Lincoln,
adorned with Christmas lights donated by Ace Hardware.
Wanda Lee Rohlfs, the director of Main Street Lincoln, said she
wanted to be sure to send out a special "thank-you" to Ace and the
Coopers for helping making the city tree a possibility.
The annual holiday open house this year is starting a bit early,
with the Friday night opener, when Santa makes his way into town for
the weekend. Santa will throw the switch lighting the tree and the
street decorations, and all the stores on the square will turn on
their lights at the same time.
Rohlfs said she believes it will be a lovely sight when the
entire town is lit up for Christmas.
Downtown merchants who will be open until 7 that evening will
have their windows decorated according to this year's Christmas
theme, "Snowy Days and Starry Nights."
Inside the stores, there will be "snowflake" and "star" specials
and the "Abe Hats" will be set out at cash registers for shoppers to
enter a drawing to be held Sunday for either two tickets to a
spaghetti dinner at Hallie's on the square or $10 in "Main Street
Money," which can be spent at any participating merchant.
Saturday at 10 a.m. Santa will return to the downtown area for a
special story time and breakfast at the Owl's Roost on Pulaski
Street. The event is being sponsored by the Lincoln Kiwanis, who
will provide the children with a free breakfast consisting of hot
chocolate, muffins or cookies, which they can enjoy while Santa
reads to them from his favorite storybook.
Each child will also receive a treat bag from Santa and have
their name entered in a drawing for a gift certificate to Abe's
Carmelcorn.
From noon to 2 p.m. Absolute Harmony Salon and Day Spa is giving
away free haircuts! Melissa Fleshmann, the owner of Absolute
Harmony, will be doing cuts and asking only for a free-will
donation, 100 percent of which will go to Main Street Lincoln.
Rohlfs said she was very grateful to Fleshmann for doing this.
The organization relies on fundraisers and donations for one-third
of its annual budget, so every penny makes a huge difference in what
the group can do for the downtown area.
On Saturday, shoppers will once again be able to sign up for the
drawing for the spaghetti dinner at Hallie's or the $10 in Main
Street Money, plus they can enter a drawing for a "Snow Flake and
Star Light Basket," which will be drawn for on Dec. 18.
In addition, there will be music on the square, provided by Roger
Matson of Action Rentals and Sales, and an opportunity to dance with
Santa and perhaps get a picture taken with the jolly elf as he makes
his way through the downtown area.
Shoppers can also walk the square, view the decorated windows and
vote on their favorite.
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On Sunday everyone is invited to come to lunch or dinner with
Santa at Hallie's on the square. Beginning at 11 a.m. and running to
5 p.m. the restaurant will serve up a special spaghetti dinner with
Santa being the guest of honor.
Rohlfs said that during this time there is also going to be a
little game, just for fun, for the grown-ups in the crowd. Everyone
will be invited to make out their personal wish list, the kind of
list that one would make if they could have anything in the world
they wanted.
Rohlfs said she's sure there will be new cars on the list, exotic
vacations and more, and even though Main Street and Santa are making
no promises that these wishes will come true, it should be fun to
find out what such a list might contain.
In addition to a fun-filled time at Hallie's, there will also be
more shopping opportunities as many of the downtown stores will be
open from 1 to 5 that day.
And, the 2010 Christmas ornament, which features the Lincoln
Woman's Club Building on North McLean Street, has arrived and will
be offered for sale beginning Friday evening.
On Nov. 17 Rohlfs will make a presentation to the Woman's Club at
their monthly meeting, which is to be their formal milestone
celebration of their building.
The building occupied by the club has been a part of the city
landscape for 100 years. Built in 1910 as the city's first and only
Jewish synagogue, the building sold in 1930 to the Woman's Club,
which for the past 80 years has maintained it to the best of their
ability in its original state.
This year's Christmas parade is coming on a new date and day of
the week compared with years past.
Carrying on the theme of "Snowy Days and Starry Nights," the
parade will be on Black Friday, Nov. 26, at 5:30 p.m. Rohlfs said
the reason for the change is that Main Street wants to draw more
Black Friday shoppers to the downtown area. It is her hope that
folks will come early for the parade and do some shopping before it
begins.
On the night of the parade, The Oasis senior center will sell
chili soup, so be sure to drop in there to have a bite and support a
very worthy cause.
While it may be hard to believe that the year is going by so
quickly, the fact remains, come this Friday, Christmas will be only
43 days away!
Many of you may already be making your lists and planning your
shopping trips. Main Street Lincoln and the downtown merchants hope
that before you leave town, you come downtown and see all that is
available to you right here in Lincoln.
Remember, shopping local keeps dollars in our community and
supports our families and our friends.
From December 2009
Lincoln Daily News:
From November 2008
Lincoln Daily News:
[By NILA SMITH]
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