GREENFIELD — Harris Elementary kindergartner Lincoln Niece was born with pulmonary atresia, a heart defect in which the pulmonary valve is not formed properly. He has had a number of surgeries, including needing to have a feeding tube placed. But in most ways, his mom said, he’s a typical kid — including a love of Santa Claus and all things Christmas.
Lincoln was chosen to flip the switch lighting up the Christmas tree at this year’s Christmas Parade of Lights and Tree Lighting in Greenfield, an honor his mother, Whitney Niece, said was exciting for the whole family.
“Lincoln has had a lot of medical issues go on in his life, so for something like this to happen opens up a lot of doors for him and makes him happy, and he loves Christmas, so it all goes together,” Whitney said.
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Lincoln, accompanied by Greenfield Mayor Chuck Fewell, flipped the candy cane-shaped switch that lit up over 1,000 LED lights on the town’s main Christmas tree, to cheers from the crowd in attendance.
Relatively mild winter weather contributed to a high turnout at the event Saturday, Dec. 7, organized by the Riley Festival Association. Hundreds of people came out to enjoy the parade, watch the Christmas tree lighting and visit with Santa Claus afterward. The festivities capped a busy weekend of holiday-season kickoffs all over the the county. Celebrations also were held in Cumberland, Fortville, New Palestine and Shirley.
There are some changes to the holiday display in downtown Greenfield this year, street commissioner Tyler Rankins said, including a new centerpiece tree and a fireplace set piece added to the area where children can meet Santa Claus.
“The wind blew our old tree down last year, so we had to get a new one,” Rankins said. “The fireplace, one of my employees from the street department built. We try to add something new, where it’s homemade or whether it’s new lights, every year. We used to be able to get it done in a week, and now it takes about 2½ weeks to get it all out.”
A major part of that process, Rankins said, is checking to make sure every lightbulb in the display is working. While he doesn’t know the precise number, Rankins said there are thousands of bulbs in the display, which includes numerous pieces in addition to the tree.
Fewell said the event is something the community looks forward to every year. He said this year’s turnout was a dramatic increase from 2018, when the event had to be rescheduled at the last minute due to inclement weather.
“We’re glad to see everybody come down and participate,” Fewell said. “Of course, we know the real meaning of why we’re all here, but we can’t forget that the kids enjoy Santa and the things that go along with that, and we try to add some flavor to it as a city to bring some joy to everybody.”
The event also included a window lighting contest for downtown businesses, which was won by Greenfield Chocolates.
Riley Festival Association president Nancy Alldredge said the organization takes a more relaxed attitude toward facilitating the Christmas parade than the parade during the October festival, but that the event is popular and helps keep the Riley Festival on people’s minds during the winter months.
“It’s another community activity that people enjoy, and that’s what the Riley Festival does,” Alldredge said.
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Santa Claus will have regular hours throughout the holiday season at his headquarters on the Courthouse Plaza in downtown Greenfield. Here is the schedule:
Fridays, Dec. 13 and Dec. 20: 6 to 8:30 p.m.
Saturdays: Dec. 14 and Dec. 21: 2 to 5 p.m.
Sundays, Dec. 15 and Dec. 22: 2 to 5 p.m.
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