Christmas cheer comes to Conrad | News, Sports, Jobs

T-R PHOTO BY NOAH ROHLFING — Santa and Mrs. Claus make an appearance at Christmas in Conrad, on their way to lighting the town Christmas tree in Dorothy King Park. Afterwards, they were made available for photo opportunities at The Farmer’s Daughter Photography.

CONRAD — Members of the Conrad community were waiting Saturday evening in the cold, with two fire pits in the middle of Main Street keeping some guests warm. Spirits were high, children were running races and everyone was waiting for one person – Santa Claus himself – to kick off Christmas in Conrad.

Just after 5:20, after spending time reading down Christmas lists of assisted living residents at Oakview, Mr. and Mrs. Claus made their way down Main Street in a trolley carried by horses, waving past the crowds of families and ending up in front of Dorothy King Park.

From there, the evening festivities began with the lighting of the town Christmas tree. It was the start to an evening Krista Grant – the Chamber Main Street Director – said was a great success.

“I thought we had a really great turnout and the town really showed up for it,” Grant said. “Our businesses were open and they did lots of fun things in each one. I felt like the whole community and the whole downtown got together.

“It’s a pretty well-oiled machine, it just kind of keeps running itself. Everybody had their part in there and they just knew exactly what to do.”

Following the Christmas tree lighting, the Clauses made their way over to The Farmer’s Daughter, where kids and families could take photo ops with them. The building was full and the line was nearly out the door. It was just one of the many small business shops in Conrad that were busy Saturday, with each of them presenting special deals or a special item, from a designated drink at Hang Loose to Christmas cookies at Hometown Foods and much more. Grant and the businesses labeled the specials and items as “Downtown Christmas Magic,” encouraging members of the community to visit and make the rounds.

One of the most anticipated parts of the night was the annual Snowball drop, in which Gary Engle gets up atop of an electrical truck and throws a number of ping pong balls down on the crowds below – who then fight for as many “snowballs” as possible in order to win prizes.

There were two editions of the event this year, one for children under the age of 12 and one for those 13 and above.

Grant said the people at Alliant Energy donated the funds and prizes for the kids’ edition of the event after the community only had one snowball drop for the past couple of years.

Trolley rides were available for interested people for nearly 90 minutes, as was a supper at the American Legion.

With the night running smoothly and a complete Christmas in Conrad experience for the first time since 2019 due to COVID limitations, Grant said it was a needed evening.

“I feel like this year was the first time since 2019 that I feel like the magic of Christmas was back,” Grant said. “Getting to decorate the park and then turning on the lights and just seeing the lights go on, the nativity scene this year and bringing the magic back downtown. That’s what we wanted to do for 2022.”