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Warm weather greets Fairfield’s Christmas Eve parade
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FAIRFIELD – It was not a white Christmas for Southeast Iowa, but that did not bother the dozens of children in line to visit Santa and Mrs. Claus on Christmas Eve in Fairfield’s Central Park.
The Fairfield Rotary Club hosted its 102nd Annual Christmas Eve Parade in unusually warm weather Wednesday evening. Club President Dave Reiff, the oldest member of the club who has helped organize the parade for 47 years, said he was pleased with the turnout not just at Central Park but all along the parade route, which began at the Iowa Army National Guard Recruiting Station.
“It was a warm evening, and though it was misty, there were people running around in T-shirts,” Reiff said. “That’s part of what brought them out, plus you have an event where you throw candy.”
Club member Doug Flournoy estimated that between 30-40 children met Santa and Mrs. Claus in their sleigh, in the hopes they’d fulfill a last-minute Christmas wish. Each child was given a goodie bag courtesy of Rotary. Reiff said that, in addition to the children who came to Central Park, there were likely hundreds along the route.
“I got a lot of nice comments about it,” Reiff said. “This is an unusual thing, to have a parade in the middle of winter.”
Fairfield Rotary was founded in 1920 and began the tradition of a Christmas Eve parade right away. The club had to pause the parade for a few years during World War II, but it’s been going strong ever since, never missing a year. The only exception was a few years ago when temperatures dropped so low that Santa and Mrs. Claus met with children at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center instead of the usual outdoor gathering at Central Park.
“In my 47 years of this, we’ve had bitterly cold nights where we thought better of it, but we always had some kids come out, and that made it all worthwhile,” Reiff said.
These days, the club hands out a bag of sweets and chocolates. Reiff noted that, in the old days, the club gave out apples, oranges and peanuts.
Reiff said the parade would not be possible without the help of the Fairfield Police Department and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, who escort the sleigh through town. The Iowa Army National Guard has generously donated its space for the last quarter century, where the club prepares Santa’s sleigh for the trip. For the last 20 years or so, members of Rotary’s youth chapter called Interact have served as carolers or elves.
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
