By Chad Koenen

Publisher

One of the largest lighted Christmas parades in the area will once again roll through Henning on Saturday.  ¶  The annual Henning Santa Day festivities will be held on Saturday and feature events from 10 a.m. until well after the sun goes down.  ¶  The day will begin with arts and crafts, as well as games for children and adults at the Trinity Center from 10 a.m. to  5 p.m. The Trinity Center will also have food, drinks and snacks throughout the day, as well as a variety of entertainment.  ¶  The man of the hour will stop by the Landmark Center in Henning from 2-4 p.m. as Santa gathers Christmas wish lists and shares some holiday spirit. Santa and Mrs. Claus will also provide an extra special gift bag to all of the local children who visit them in Henning as they prepare for Christmas Eve.  ¶  The Landmark Center will also feature food options provided by the Henning Lions Club from 2-5 p.m., while hot chocolate and cookies will be served at the Landmark Center beginning at 4 p.m. The hot chocolate will help to keep local residents warm as they wait for one of the biggest lighted parades to roll through Henning beginning around 5 p.m. 

The parade line up will take place at 4:30 p.m. at St. Edward’s Catholic Church. The parade is open to everyone and there is no preregistration necessary to participate in the parade. A map of the parade route can be found on page 10 of this week’s Citizen’s Advocate.

Following the parade, which will roll through the streets of downtown and a number of residential areas in town, the community tree lighting and caroling will take place at the Landmark Center. The tree lighting is expected to begin at 6 p.m.

In addition to the activities as part of Santa Day on Saturday, the Landmark Center will be collecting Letters to Santa in a special Santa Mailbox. A Stocking Stuffer and Toy Drive drop off will be located by the community Christmas tree at the Landmark Center all day on Saturday. 

The Station will also host a build your own porch pot fundraiser for the Henning Post Prom. From 2-5 p.m., individuals can build a holiday porch pot at the Station near the Landmark Center. A five gallon fabric pot and sand/fill will be provided, as well as a variety of greenery and accents. 

The cost for the porch pot will be $40 and proceeds will benefit the Henning Post Prom. 

Deer Creek Santa Day

Santa will be making the rounds on Saturday as he will be stopping by the Deer Creek Community Center for the annual Deer Creek Santa Day festivities. 

The day will feature wagon rides through town by Bob Reemts, as well as hot chocolate and cookies inside the community center. Santa will be visiting with area children from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

OtterDazzle

If Henning has one of the largest lighted parades in the area then Ottertail has one of the largest winter fireworks displays throughout the region. 

“It should be a really good event,” said Ottertail Business and Community Association President Ron Grobeck. “We are going to have a spectacular fireworks display.”

The annual OtterDazzle celebration kicks off on Saturday morning with the annual Ottertail Lions pancake breakfast. The breakfast will take place from 8-11 a.m. at the community center.

Also beginning at 8 a.m. will be the annual vendor and craft show inside the community center. The vendor and craft fair will feature a collection of special Christmas presents, handmade items and a variety of one-of-a-kind collectibles to kick off the holiday season. 

OtterDazzle will continue with hay rack rides through town from 1-3 p.m., while kids crafts and cookie decorating will get underway from 2-4 p.m.

Of course OtterDazzle wouldn’t be complete without a visit from the big guy in red who will be making the rounds on Saturday. Santa will be visiting with local children in Ottertail from 2-4 p.m. 

At 5:30 p.m. OtterDazzle will transition to the community park for the annual Christmas tree lighting, before the chili feed will take place at 5:45 p.m. Proceeds from the chili feed at the community center will benefit a local cause. 

One of the largest winter fireworks displays in the region will take place following the Christmas tree lighting by the water tower at approximately 5:30 p.m.