Snowflake Parade and 'Polar Express' highlight holiday weekend in Lindsborg
The holiday season has arrived and plenty of events are happening this weekend in Lindsborg.
While the more sacred St. Lucia Festival is still a week out, Lindsborg is set host to several secular celebrations and activities this weekend, with holiday crafts, gifts, a parade and even a showing of "The Polar Express."
Snowflake Parade begins the day
Though downtown shops will be open earlier, the festivities Saturday really begin with the annual Snowflake Parade.
Described as the "wacky winter" event of the year, the parade is open to anyone and everyone who wants to participate, with previous attire including snowflakes, Christmas bells, snowpeople, reindeer, tomtes, Dala horses, ugly Christmas sweaters and more.
Line-up for the parade begins at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at Bethany Lutheran Church, 320 N. Main St., and the parade will take place beginning at 11 a.m. along Main Street.
After the parade until 1 p.m., Santa will be at First Bank Kansas, 118 N. Main St., while Mrs. Claus will have cookies at the Lindsborg Community Library, 111 S. Main St., which is also hosting a make-and-take cardstock ornament event for children.
Have a chance to win a 'Polar Express' model train set
For children and families, a highlight of the weekend will be an evening of fun at the J.O. Sundstrom Conference Center with the Polar Express Experience.
Included at the experience will be a showing of the film "The Polar Express," a holiday photo op, hot cocoa, cookies and more.
Those attending the event will also receive a souvenir ticket, with each ticket holder entered into a drawing to win a Lionel "Polar Express" HO scale electric train set courtesy of Jim Richardson of Small World Gallery.
The model set includes the train locomotive, coal car, two passenger cars, train track, a Bluetooth remote and conductor and train sounds.
Sponsored by Lindsborg Recreation and Broadway RFD, the event begins at 6 p.m. that evening and registration is required. Reservations for the event, which costs $15 per person with a $2 sibling discount, can be found on the Lindsborg Recreation Department website.
More: Kansas Wesleyan will hold Christmas by Candlelight at Stiefel Theatre this year
Other holiday events in Lindsborg this weekend
Also happening this weekend in Lindsborg will be several ways for the community to support local businesses and artists.
The 20th Christmas Artists' Studio Open House will be happening from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Red Barn Studio Museum where local Lindsborg artists will open up their studios for the public to see the process and work behind the art.
The annual Holiday Gift Show continues from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery where over 30 invited artists have work represented in the show including paintings, prints, ceramics, jewelry, sculpture, Swedish-inspired folk art, woodcarvings, mixed media pieces and more.
From 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, the Smoky Valley Arts and Folklife Center, 114 1/2 S. Main St., will be open for its Holiday Gift Market. The market is a place to buy handmade gifts from local artists.
Finally, at 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3, the Birger Sandzén Memorial Gallery will be hosting Kevin Ayesh, a South Carolina-based pianist who is a Wichita native.
Ayesh will be performing works from Beethoven, Chopin and Rachmaninoff, along with such holiday pieces as selections from Franz Liszt's "Christmas Tree Suite." The concert is free to the public, but the gallery said donations are appreciated.
This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Lindsborg hosting Snowflake Parade, Polar Express Experience, more
