City of Joliet gives Santa a merry sendoff to the North Pole

Although it’s a busy time for Santa Claus, he did visit Joliet recently to spread good cheer in a very trying year.

“It’s been a very, very busy year,” Santa said. “[But] Mrs. Claus gave me permission to come down.”

On Saturday, the city of Joliet gave Santa a festive sendoff as he returned to the North Pole to finalize preparations for his big delivery of gifts and toys on Dec. 24.

The event began at 10 a.m. from Joliet Fire Station 4 on Draper Avenue. Members of the Joliet Police and Fire departments escorted Santa through Joliet’s east and west sides.

The Santa Sendoff ended at Plainfield South High School, with Santa making it safely back for the North Pole.

Katie Smith from the Joliet city manager’s office said the sendoff “went off without a hitch.”

“Overall, I think everyone was really excited,” Smith said. “We had a great turnout. It seemed that a lot of parents were able to bring their kids out and that was great. The kids were really excited to see Santa.”

Smith said people also seemed to be really excited following Santa’s sendoff route on the city of Joliet’s Facebook page.

The Santa Sendoff was meant to replace Joliet’s Light Up the Holidays Festival and Parade, which was canceled this year due to the COVID pandemic, Smith said. But would it become a tradition of its own?

“That’s something we could revisit in six or eight months,” Smith said.

If you missed this socially distant event, you may watch highlights via Joliet TV YouTube site.

The video opens with Joliet City Council member Jan Quillman, dressed in Santa suit and facemask and jingling reindeer bells, as she gives an overview of the sendoff and introduces key people who helped make it happen.

One feature of the event was an antique fire truck that was part of the original station 4 when station 4 was located on Collins Street.

Fire Chief Greg Blaskey said the engine was from 1934 and is now privately owned.

The pre-sendoff remarks also included an explanation of the “Keep the Wreath Red” program to help prevent raise awareness of the prevention of holiday-related fires.

Lt. Burke Schuster of the Joliet Fire Department said a wreath with red bulbs hangs at each station. When a fire related to any holiday-related decoration, such as tree lights or candles, then a red bulb is removed and replaced with a white one.

“So far to date we haven’t had to replace any bulbs,” Schuster said. “It’s been years and years since we’ve had to.”

The Plainfield Fire Department District is also participating in “Keep the Wreath Red” campaign.

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Santa Sendoff Santa Claus and friends make their way to Plainfield South on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020, in Plainfield, Ill. Local families wait for a glimpse of Santa Claus during the Santa Send-off event. With the help of Joliet officials, Santa traveled through downtown Joliet, concluding his trip at Plainfield South. (Geoff Stellfox - gstellfox@shawmedia.com)