HANCOCK COUNTY — Next weekend marks the official start of the holiday season in several Hancock County communities, where the public is invited to share in a host of holiday traditions.
On Friday, Dec. 2, the Town of McCordsville will host a Christmas tree lighting event 6-8 p.m. at city hall.
On Saturday, Dec. 3, Greenfield and Fortville will each host a Christmas parade, tree lighting and some face-time with Jolly Old St. Nick.
That same day, Cumberland will host its annual Weihnachsmarkt celebration, featuring free carriage rides, reindeer, Christmas carolers and live music.
New Palestine will host its own holiday celebration — the town’s inaugural Winter Fest — on Saturday, Dec. 10.
Fortville has hosted its own Winterfest since 2010.
This year’s free event, hosted by the Fortville Parks Department, takes place from noon to 7 p.m. Dec. 3. Guests can stroll up and down Main Street visiting local shops and restaurants while stopping by bonfire stations and family photo op spots.
A parade will make its way down Main Street at 1:30 p.m., featuring the Mt. Vernon High School marching band and the town’s golf carts decked out in lights, among other entries. A tree lighting is scheduled for 6 p.m.
The festival also features visits with Santa, an ice skating rink, gaming truck, snowball fight area and a kids’ craft station with free popcorn and cocoa,
Local businesses get in on the action by hosting giveaways, contests and specials throughout the festival, and dressing up their windows for the occasion.
Parks event coordinator Natalie Tucker said the event has grown steadily each year, with 3,000 attending last year. She anticipates this year’s event could draw more people than ever, thanks in part to the growing number of businesses and things to do downtown.
Greenfield Mayor Chuck Fewell expects a big crowd at his city’s Christmas tree lighting and parade, which is switching locations and parade routes this year to accommodate the growing event.
For years, the tree lighting took place on the Courthouse Plaza just south of the courthouse, but the event has been moved to Depot Street Park, which has hosted a number of concerts and community events since opening earlier this year.
The parade route is being reversed so that it will end on Depot Street, which has served as the staging area and starting point of the parade in years past. The staging area has now been moved to American Legion Place, where the parade previously ended.
Fewell said the reversed route will be better for guests by finishing the night at Depot Street Park, which serves as the epicenter of the city’s holiday decor this year.
“We moved the festivities to Depot Park because we had outgrown the plaza,” said Fewell, who said the plaza would still be decked out in holiday lights.
Above all, the park — which sits two blocks from the city’s main thoroughfares — is a much safer location for the public, he said.
“Rather than crossing over State Road 9, families can park near the park and come and go more safely,” said Fewell.
Plus, he said the park provides an ideal space for the city’s extensive holiday display, which features festive lights up and down Main Street as well as throughout the park and along the Pennsy Trail, stretching from from Riley Avenue to Ind. 9.
The mayor said he’s been impressed with how innovative the parks department has been in growing the city’s holiday light display and how the street department has been able to secure and relocate a live local tree over the past few years.
The city once again asked the public for a donation of a live Christmas tree, and Greenfield resident Gale Gray answered the call.
“A lot of times, we’ll find someone who wants a tree removed anyway, so it works out well for everyone,” said Fewell, who commissioned street department employees to chop down the tree and transport it to Depot Street Park earlier this week with the help of police escort to get the sizeable tree safely to it destination.
The tree now sits on the park’s covered stage, which is the epicenter of the city’s holiday decor.
The stage is also the new home for Santa’s house — hosted by the Greenfield Kiwanis — which for years had been set up on Courthouse Plaza. Children will get the chance to visit with Santa there after next weekend’s parade, in addition to other days posted throughout the month of December.
The public is welcome to hang their own ornament on the tree.
Fewell said he and his wife Kristin always enjoy walking in the Christmas parade, seeing the joy in people’s faces as they watch the lighted floats go by.
“The crowd really delights in it. It puts everyone in a festive mood,” said the mayor, who said there’s just something special about a small downtown at Christmas time.
“Soon we’ll start playing Christmas music over the sound system as we do each year for all the shoppers. It’s a wonderful time of year,” he said.
This year’s parade starts at 6:30 p.m., followed by the tree lighting immediately afterwards.
