Fairfield Rotary to host Christmas Eve Parade

FAIRFIELD - The coronavirus pandemic has interrupted many traditions in 2020, but one that it will not touch is Fairfield Rotary's annual Christmas Eve Parade.

The parade will be mostly the same as in past years with a few COVID-related changes. This will be the Rotary Club's 98th Christmas Eve Parade. Perhaps the longest-running tradition in town, Rotary has hosted a parade for nearly a century, skipping only a couple of years during World War II but never canceling it for bad weather.

Just as in years' past, the parade will begin at the Iowa National Guard Armory on West Stone Avenue at 5 p.m. on Thursday. It will follow the same route as always, with Santa and his reindeer leading the way. Santa and his elves will throw candy to parade onlookers before making their final stop on the west side of Central Park to meet the area's good little girls and boys, around 6-6:15 p.m.

What's different this year is that Santa will not invite children to sit next to him or on his lap. Instead, he will talk to children through Plexiglas. Families who come to greet Santa are encouraged to practice social distancing and wear a mask.

Dave Reiff, co-chair of the parade committee, said Rotary had to make a few changes to ensure everyone stayed safe in the pandemic.

'We couldn't have kids as close to Santa as normal,” he said. 'We know that if 50 or 100 kids got sick, we'd be blamed for being reckless.”

The parade would normally include a float of carolers singing Christmas songs, but that's been eliminated this year. Reiff said the live carolers will be replaced with recorded songs played over a loudspeaker. The parade would also include a team of six to eight elves throwing candy, but Rotary will use fewer than that this time around.

This year's parade will be dedicated to the memory of Gene Luedtke, a longtime Rotarian and former advertising director of The Fairfield Ledger who died in August 2019 at age 73.

The forecast for Thursday is not ideal, with a projected high that day of just 17 and a low of 9. Reiff has been involved in the parade for 40 years, and Rotary faced a bitter cold night one year. They contemplated canceling the parade, but Ed Stater, who drove the parade tractor for three decades, remarked 'Let's roll.”

'The sentiment was that the weather was not going to stop us,” Reiff said. 'We felt that, if one kid showed up, it was worth it.”

Santa's route on Christmas Eve:

' Start at 1501 West Stone Avenue Iowa Army National Guard Facility North Parking Lot.

' Turn West on West Stone Avenue to North 23rd Street.

' Turn South on North 23rd Street to West Grimes Avenue.

' Turn East on West Grimes Avenue to North 22nd Street.

' Turn South on North 22nd Street to West Burlington Avenue.

' Turn East on West Burlington Avenue to Sixth Street.

' Turn South on South Sixth Street to West Adams Avenue.

' Turn East on West Adams Avenue to Maple Street.

' Turn South on South Maple Street to Madison Avenue.

' Turn North on South Highland Street to Burlington Avenue.

' Turn West on East Burlington Avenue to 'D” Street.

' Turn North on North 'D” Street to Broadway Avenue.

' Turn West on East Broadway Avenue to Court Street.

' Turn South on South Court Street to Burlington Avenue.

' Turn West on Burlington Avenue to Main Street.

' Turn North on North Main Street stop at the middle entrance to Central Park.