December 27, 2024
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Joliet invites residents to give Santa a send-off

Santa rides through town on Saturday in an antique fire truck

By Bob Okon
Santa Claus and friends cross the bridge over the Des Plaines River on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020, at Plainfield South High School 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.

Santa and friends cross the Des Plaines River during the Santa Send-Off in Joliet in 2020. (Geoff Stellfox - gstellfox@shawmedia.com)

The city of Joliet is inviting residents to join in a send-off for Santa on Saturday.

Santa will ride through town on an antique fire truck escorted by police and fire vehicles starting at 10 a.m., waving to good little boys, girls and people of all ages.

The city urges Joliet to look for Santa and “help us send him back to the North Pole to prepare for his journey on Christmas Eve,” according to the city announcement of the event.

It’s the second year for the Santa Send-Off, which was done in 2020 as a substitute for the Light Up the Holidays parade that had been canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Katie Smith, economic development and communications manager for the city.

“It was well received, and the City Council decided to do it again,” Smith said.

The send-off procession starts on the East Side at Woodruff Road and Draper Avenue and is expected to continue for about an hour and 20 minutes before ending on the far West Side at Ridge and Caton Farm roads.

The city has provided a map of the route with “turn-by-turn directions” on its website at joliet.gov/santa. People can follow the parade for live updates at @TheCityofJoliet on Facebook and Twitter.

The start of the parade will be shown live on JCTV Channel 6 and on the city’s Facebook page.

Added to the event this year will be a Santa Send-Off themed program from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on 88.7 WCSF-FM as part of the University of St. Francis station’s holiday music programming that runs through Jan. 2.

Those with questions about the Santa Send-off can call 815-724-3734 or send an email to ksmith@joliet.gov.

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