GREENFIELD — The holidays. It’s the one time of year that most of us hope for snow in search of that elusive and magical white Christmas. But snow or no snow, the sights and sounds of the season will light up Greenfield on Saturday with holiday events.
Christmas Festival and parade
Organized by the Riley Festival under the leadership of Anita Turner, the Greenfield Christmas Festival and Parade of Lights features family-friendly activities from the late afternoon through the evening hours.
Downtown stores and businesses will be decorated and open for business, as events kick off around 4 p.m.
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While the Greenfield Community Choir be caroling throughout downtown, D.J. Tony Seiler from the Greenfield Music Center will be spinning Christmas tunes in the kids’ game area on the south side of the Hancock County Courthouse.
“We may switch away from Christmas for hula hooping and a limbo contest,” Seiler said.
Other kids’ activities include a bean bag cookie toss into Santa’s mouth, a reindeer antler ring toss and prizes.
Attendees can purchase a cup of hot chocolate from the Wilkerson Competitive Dance Team on the front porch of the Greenfield Area Chamber of Commerce building on the Courthouse Plaza, and Kimmy Cupcake will be on hand for face-painting.
At 5:45 p.m., the Parade of Lights departs from its launch site on Depot Street between Riley Avenue and Pennsylvania Street and proceed north for two blocks before turning east at the corner of Main Street and Pennsylvania. From there, the parade will advance down Main Street until it reaches American Legion Place.
Parade entrants are encouraged to decorate their floats with lights and a Christmas theme. It’s not too late to participate, said Turner. Those interested in being a part of the parade should reach out to the Riley Festival committee on Facebook. You can search for Greenfield Christmas Festival and Parade of Lights.
Guests of honor in the parade will include Little Miss and Little Mister, Braylynn Doerflein and Grayson Plunkett, who were selected during October’s Riley Festival. Also in attendance will be Gracie Johnson, the Riley Festival queen, and her court.
Santa is, of course, the headliner for the parade and will arrive via fire truck. When the parade reaches the Courthouse Plaza, Santa will disembark for the tree-lighting ceremony.
He will be ably assisted, Turner said, by a Greenfield-Central elementary school student selected to help him flip the switch that will light the tree.
Christmas at the Ricks
In addition to the Christmas Festival on the Courthouse Plaza, the marquee at the H.J. Ricks Centre for the Arts, 122 W. Main St., will be lighting up the night for Christmas at the Ricks, a variety show fundraiser put on by Friends of the Theater. Proceeds from the 7 p.m. event will benefit the group’s project to upgrade and renovate the theater’s iconic marquee with energy-efficient LED lights.
The slate of performers for the evening reads like a Who’s Who of Hancock County talent.
The Hearts Ablaze clogging team, fresh from its appearance at Circle of Lights at Monument Circle in Indianapolis, will perform several times throughout the evening.
The Brandywine Wind Jazz group, conducted by Jerry Bell, along with its featured soloist Anita Workman, will perform holiday tunes including “Santa Baby,” “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”
Bell, one of the nine members on the board of directors for Friends of the Theater, is excited about the possibility of renovating the marquee. For him, the marquee brings back memories of going to the movies as a child growing up in Hartford City.
“When the lights are on downtown, it means something is going on,” Bell said. We want it to sparkle. We want people to not be able to pass by without noticing it.”
Wilkerson Dance; New Palestine Intermediate School’s hand chime choir; and Mt. Vernon High School’s Locked Out choir are also featured performers.
The event also includes a wine and beer cash bar on the balcony of the Ricks Centre, photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus from 6 to 7 p.m. and cookie sales from Butter Chip Bakery, winner of Greenfield Main Street’s Pitch Night.
Event organizer Noelle Russell hopes for a good crowd for this community-centered event.
“There’s really been so much support especially from our downtown vendors who want to see the theater succeed,” Russell said. “The Ricks is just the kind of place you want to see packed at Christmastime, and we’re hoping our show does just that.”
Tickets are available at the door before the show for $8 or online at rickschristmas.bpt.me.
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What: Christmas Festival and Parade of Lights; and Christmas at the Ricks
When: Starting at 4 p.m. Saturday. Christmas at the Ricks, a variety show to benefit Friends of the Theater, starts at 7 p.m. at the Ricks Centre for the Arts.
Where: Downtown Greenfield
Highlights: The Parade of Lights will begin at 5:45 p.m. on Depot Street between Riley Avenue and Pennsylvania Street. It will move north on Pennsylvania to Main Street and east to State Street and the Courthouse Plaza. Santa Claus will light the plaza Christmas tree, and various children’s activities will be available nearby. Stores downtown also will be open.
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