Published on December 6, 2024 5:14 pm
Last Updated on December 6, 2024 5:22 pm
The annual Lighted Christmas Parade through downtown Effingham will be a big part of festivities Saturday.
The parade will take place on Saturday evening as part of the annual Downtown Effingham Hometown Christmas.
The Hometown Christmas on the 7th will be presented by HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital. The event will include horse-drawn carriage rides, tractor train rides, live reindeer, and Christmas and Disney characters.
Scheduled events will include downtown Christmas shopping from 10am to 3pm, Lunch w/Santa at Joe’s Pizza and Pastafrom 11:30am to 3pm, and Santa’s Workshop in the heated tent in the City parking lot from 3 to 5pm. Activities in the heated tent will include bulb planting by the University of Illinois Master Gardeners, a Christmas activity by CEFS, Christmas coloring by EARS, a Christmas craft by Effingham County Case Managers, cookie decorating by Kirby Foods, and reindeer food by The Royal School of Cosmetology.
Also from 3 to 5pm: horse drawn carriage rides, live reindeer by Dahnke Family Farms, tractor train rides by Macklin Kettle Corn, Joe Sipper’s Cafe beverage cart, and The Fair Lady.
The parade will begin at 5pm at Beanstalk Boutique and head east on Jefferson to 4th Street, and north on 4th to Santa’s House. More than two dozen entries are expected.
Santa will be in his house from 5:45 to 8pm. Also, the FACE Christmas Concert will begin at 6:15pm at the Old Courthouse.
