Light Parade Thursday

With the Bison parade over, the McCook Area Chamber of Commerce is quickly preparing for the next parade -- the Christmas Light Parade on Thursday.

For the seventh year, the festive parade will travel up Norris Avenue from B Street to Norris Park beginning at 6 p.m. Chamber Director Marie Owen said entry forms for the parade should be delivered to the chamber office as soon as possible.

The traditional lighting ceremony of Norris Park will follow the parade in the Park. Santa Claus also will be on hand in the park to visit with children of all ages and the McCook Chamber Brass Band will be playing

Christmas tunes in the band shell. For the first time in years, the weather is expected to be Christmas-like, so Owen encouraged everyone to attend, but to bundle up.

In addition to the parade, the Chamber is busy with other Christmas activities and promotions.

The Chamber's hospitality room opens Monday through Christmas Eve. During the week, the room will be open until 8 p.m. and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

Santa will be visiting the hospitality room every Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday during the regular hours.

In addition to refreshments and holiday music, the McCook High School cheerleaders will be gift-wrapping presents as a fund-raiser at the hospitality room. Owen said the project helps off-set some of the cheerleaders' costs and encouraged shoppers to stop and save the hassle of wrapping presents themselves.

Also available for sale at the Chamber are the Chamber Christmas ornaments.

The sixth ornament in the series, the ornament this year features the recently-remodeled Frank Lloyd Wright house.

Owen noted that zero-percent Christmas loans are available from First Central Bank, AmFirst Bank and McCook National Bank. "We appreciate the banks doing this program," she said, "because it keeps money in the community." Money from the Christmas loans can be spent anywhere in the community through Christmas Eve day.

On a sad note, Owen said the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Santa Train has been canceled this year. It took some persuasion to get the train out last year, she said, but that just didn't work this year. Chamber mixer set for Dec. 11

The December Chamber of Commerce mixer is set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 11, at Wells Fargo Bank.