Christmas on the Square took place last Wednesday and proved to be bigger and better than years past.

Normally the event is held with activities and interactions with stores on the square, with the lighting of the Community Christmas Tree as the finale, but this year the First Annual Christmas Parade was introduced into the event with the theme “It’s beginning to look a lot like a Hometown Christmas.”

The Cooperative Extension Office, along with the Clinton County Fair Board, hosted the event and it went off without a hitch.

“All Christmas on the Square activities were quite successful, considering all we tried to include this year. I know there was concern that the event was held on a Wednesday night, but the number of churches involved in either the parade or outreach around the square was phenomenal. Several businesses not located on the square set up in the Foothills Festival lot and were joined by different community agencies too. We tried to be mindful of those who might be in town for awhile and offered food trucks as well. Several businesses on the square stayed open late and participated in the window decorating contest. For the first time we included a parade. Things went very well,” Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences Christy Stearns said. “The Fair Board stepped up to organize the parade and the community responded in such a positive way. We appreciate their leadership and sponsorship. From an overall planning committee perspective, we said early on that 2-3 floats would be adequate for us to say it was a success and the entries in the parade far surpassed expectations. The crowd was huge and everyone seems to have loved having a Christmas parade back in Clinton County.”

Stearns said it was the community speaking up that led the agencies to host the Christmas parade this year and it looks like it’s here to stay.

“It was community feedback the last few years that prompted our committee to add the parade, so we hope people will take advantage of the survey and share their thoughts with us. There’s much more behind the scenes planning and activity during the event than people realize. The survey also gives a chance for anyone who wants to get involved in our committee for next year to share their contact information,” Stearns said. “Our decisions are not made internally. There is a committee that we facilitate that helps plan this event. We had several new people join our planning group this year, including some members of the Hometown Revitalization group, retired business leaders, church representatives, and more. I encourage people to reach out to us and stay tuned to social media for updates about planning for 2023.”

The survey can be found on the Extension Office’s Facebook page if anyone wants to weigh in on this event or future events.

Planning is already in the works for next year and the event could see some changes. Stearns said safety is a big part in the thought process of the newly formed committee.

“Just like with any other community wide event we organize, we do our own quick evaluation and know there are some things we already plan to do differently next year. The crowd around the square for all the typical Christmas on the Square activities was less due to the parade. We may consider two separate events next year. We know lighting is a concern around the square and that’s why, from a safety perspective, we set up vendors in the Foothills Festival parking lot,” Stearns said. “We are thankful for the partnership with the Foothills Festival Committee on that. Of course, we’d like to have groups set up all around the square, but that just wasn’t feasible this year and our primary concern was safety. There’s lots of items on our committee ‘thought list’ that we will use to guide next year’s planning. I will say I’ve looked at the survey responses so far and there are lots of good suggestions for our planning group to consider for 2023, as far as parade route, times, etc. There’s never the perfect day/night for any event, but we have to start somewhere and do the best we can.”

The Community Choir and the Albany Elementary School performed before the lighting of the Community Christmas Tree Wednesday night.

“We appreciate the Community Choir and Albany Elementary School Choir for their performances and Bro. Jim England for delivering the message. The CCHS 21st Century Community Service Club members were great helping hands with all the extra responsibilities to make the event a success. For me personally, it’s one of my favorite programs of the year, along with our efforts to help ensure holiday needs are met through Operation Hometown Christmas,” Stearns said.

Stearns also noted she had looked at the survey and a couple of comments that stood out to her were: “It gave us spirit and anticipation for the Christmas season” and “It was all a true Hallmark moment for me.”

Still continuing with the Christmas Holiday will be the Christmas Village, which will be on Thursday, December 15, at the Learning Center from 5-7 p.m. and also Benny the Elf is floating around town setting up shop in different businesses each day. Clues to his whereabouts can be found on the Extension’s Facebook page.

The two largest gatherings during last Wednesday’s Christmas on the Square occurred during the lighting of the Community Christmas Tree on the courthouse lawn, above, and all along Cross and Washington Street as local and area residents view the first annual Clinton County Christmas Parade, which was a tremendous hit this year.

Several additional photos from last week’s Christmas on the Square and parade can be found in this week’s Clinton County News.