Sean C. Morgan
To deal with several issues, the Christmas Parade will be held in the morning this year on Long Street only.
The parade has normally been held on Long Street and Main Street, and in recent years, it has been held at night as a lighted parade.
Some business owners had complained that parking restrictions leading up the parade cut off access to their stores, and closing off Main Street was an expensive expenditure for the City of Sweet Home.
The Sweet Home City Council approved the closure of Long Street for the parade during its regular meeting on Nov. 23. It also allowed the closure of 18th Avenue in the evening for the Christmas Tree lighting and a “static” lighted parade.
Closing Highway 20 tied up all of Sweet Home Police Department’s officers and Public Works staff, Police Chief Bob Burford said. A committee involving the Chamber of Commerce and the city came up with a plan to keep the parade on just one street.
The parade will be staged in the Husky Field parking lot. It will travel Long Street to disband on Long Street between Oak Terrace and Highway 228. Street legal entries will be allowed to exit the parade route at Oak Terrace instead of crowding into the disbanding area.
“The costs are much more manageable doing it this way,” Chief Burford said. “There was some neat things about the night parade,” and that led to the idea of the static lighted parade. The city will close off 18th Avenue between Long and Main streets in the evening during the Christmas Tree lighting and festivities.
Parking will be restricted on Long Street in the morning, but most businesses will have access available, Chamber Manager Carla Claasen said. For example, if someone needs to visit the laundry on Long Street during the parade, they can reach it via Key Bank’s driveway.
The city, Rotary, Chamber of Commerce and other community groups pitched in this year to buy new LED Christmas lights, Claasen said. They will last 1,000 hours and use much less power than the old lights, and it should eliminate problems with burned out bulbs.
“Magic of the Christmas Star” Events Calendar
— Dec. 3-5: Singing Christmas Tree, Sweet Home High School Auditorium, 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 3-4 and 3 p.m. on Dec. 5.
— Dec. 3: Friends of the Library Holiday Bazaar, Sweet Home Public Library, during library hours.
— Dec. 3-4: Christmas Bazaar, Sweet Home Genealogical Society, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
— Dec. 4: Sweet Home Holiday Bazaar, Sweet Home High School, 11 a.m.
— Dec. 4: Brownsville Bazaar, Brownsville Assembly of God, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
— Dec. 4: Pictures with Santa, 18th and Long, 10 a.m.
— Dec. 4: Grand Parade, Long Street, 10 a.m.
— Dec. 4: Bake Sale, Wiley Creek Community, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
— Dec. 4: Community Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony and Lighted Float Display, 18th and Long, 5 p.m. High school choir, Singing Christmas Tree and high school band will perform.
— Dec. 4: Live Christmas Tree Auction, Silent Auction and Christmas Tree Display, Sweet Home High School Cafeteria, 5:30 p.m.
— Dec. 13: Christmas Program and Social, Sweet Home Seventh Day Adventist Church, 5 p.m.
— Dec. 19: Children’s Christmas Program, Brownsville Assembly of God, 6 p.m.
— Dec. 24: Sweet Home Emergency Ministries Community Holiday Dinner (for the area’s less fortunate), Jim Riggs Community Center, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
— Dec. 24: Christmas Eve Service, River of Life Fellowship, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.