By SU STELLA/for The Herald — Uptown Oakridge is already decorated with nearly a dozen of the large lighted snowflakes. On December 10th, the ‘Parade of Lights’ will stop at the large cedar tree next to the Art Works Gallery building located at 48309 East 1st Street for the Oakridge Tree Lighting ceremony at 7 pm.
The two-story-tall tree is already decorated and is ready for the lights to be turned on for the season.
Parade of Lights through Oakridge
Our local firefighters and EMT’s are busy getting ready for the parade. The decorated fire trucks, ambulances and vehicles of local businesses and organizations will leave from the Oakridge fire station around 5:30. They’ll wind through the streets of Oakridge, finally stopping at the tree lighting event.
Their long and slow journey will be stopping often so that residents and merchants can generously give unwrapped new gifts for the ‘Toys for Tots’ project. They will also be collecting non-perishable food for the Oakridge Food Box . The Toys for Tots drive is an annual event sponsored by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves.
Several merchants in the Uptown district will be open late
Be sure to come to the Uptown district early on Saturday, December 10th, so you can finish up your holiday shopping and enjoy the festivities. Art Works will have extended shopping hours that evening. Outside Curt Harville will have his forge and anvil set up. He’ll be creating bottle openers, key rings and small gift items right on the spot!
From 2 until 6 the Uptown building at 48310 East 1st Street will be bustling with several additional local artists displaying their creations. I’m sure there will also be lots of your friends shopping as well. There will be a wide variety of hand crafted items for every member of your family and even a few treats for yourself.
Santa and Mrs. Claus will be available for photos
Santa and Mrs. Claus will be arriving on the scene before the lighting of the tree takes place.
After the parade, enjoy hot cocoa, cider and cookies while the holiday carolers sing all of those traditional classics. Stay and have your photo taken with Santa and Mrs. Claus. Thank Smokey the Bear and the Fire Pup for all their hard work this summer.
Oakridge has been through so much the last few years. This event will be a great time to catch up with old friends and give Smokey a big hug!
Visit http://www.OakridgeFire.org for a map of the parade route.
A special thanks to Matt Burney and James Cleavenger. They spent an afternoon up in the tree this last week suspending the lights and hanging the ornaments.
George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.
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