It’s the start of December, and local communities are already kicking off the Christmas festivities. Every year on the weekend after Thanksgiving, Herrin hosts its annual Christmas celebration called the Herrin Hometown Christmas. This marks the fourth consecutive year that the city has put on the celebration, and this year was bigger than ever.
To kick off the main festivities, Santa arrived at 5:15 PM to light to city’s Christmas tree. The lights of the tree, along with the Christmas lights strung throughout the downtown area, make it truly feel like Christmas time. There were horse-drawn carriage rides and a live nativity scene, which both added to the excitement and festive feeling of Christmas.
A balloon artist from Balloon RN was there making magic wands and other Christmas items for the kids. There were magic shows throughout the night, performed by Chris Egelston. Those who saw the shows described them as both funny and impressive.
Many local organizations got involved this year by sponsoring the event or even hosting special events, such as at the Baldwin Piano and Organ Center. Over a dozen people dressed up in the windows of the store in festive attire and posed as live mannequins.
Additionally, there were various Christmas games held at the Civic Center throughout the evening. The Civic Center had a great turnout of people coming to enjoy the games, meet Santa, and go on carriage rides.
Several HHS Student Government members volunteered in multiple different activity areas. One student volunteer, Kari Eggemeyer (10), shared that “it was a pretty cool experience. We got to see a lot of the kids who were really happy to receive toys, especially those who might not have otherwise gotten them. It was great to see them be grateful for all the things they got.” She also said that she enjoyed volunteering and would happily do it again.
Senior Bailey Kern (12) thought that the event was “very well organized and well put together. It was a well-thought-out and fun evening for the community.” Jacie Watson (12) said it made her feel good to help out at a community event.
As the night concluded and people went home, many memories had been made. The event was a huge success with a large turnout of people from all over the town, happy to celebrate the Christmas season together as a community.
