More than 150 children lined up Friday evening to visit Santa’s Workshop and share with St. Nick what they want for Christmas, all part of the Hillsboro Uptown Business Association’s First Friday activities.
Santa’s Workshop, held in the Media Room of The Times-Gazette, will return Saturday, Dec. 12, as part of the activities that were postponed Nov. 28 due to inclement weather. Also postponed was the annual Christmas parade and a live nativity display.
So, this Saturday will feature Santa’s Workshop from 4:30-6 p.m., the annual Christmas parade beginning at 7 p.m., and, following the parade, a live nativity display presented courtesy of the Marshall United Methodist Church, Pastor Kevin Dotts and local farmer Tim Sheeley, featuring live animals, Christmas hymns and a telling of the nativity story.
The live nativity will be staged in the bay area owned by Mayor Drew Hastings and located between The Times-Gazette and the Paint Creek Joint EMS/Fire District station on Governor Trimble Place in uptown Hillsboro, across from the Highland County Courthouse.
For the first time, this year’s parade will be an illuminated nighttime event, following the trends of neighboring communities such as Greenfield, Wilmington and others.
The illuminated parade departs from the Highland County Fairgrounds at 7 p.m. and should reach the center of Hillsboro by about 7:20 p.m. About 50 entrees are participating in the parade, said Joe Mahan, president of HUBA. The theme for the parade is “Silver Bells Christmas.”
On Friday, in addition to Santa’s Workshop, the First Friday event featured rides around town on a horse-drawn “wagonette” that held 12-14 people at a time. Mahan said the wagon was filled from the first ride to the last.
