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Date: 12/14/2023
LONGMEADOW — The Longmeadow Fire Department will host its annual Santa Run event this year on Dec. 17.
The event, which will last about two hours, will began at 3 p.m. at the Fire Department headquarters on Williams Street before following a preplanned route through the major roads of the town, Fire Chief John Dearborn said. This will be the event’s fourth year.
Santa and Mrs. Claus will be riding on top of a ladder truck with the Grinch as their driver. They will be waving to any residents on the side of the road, Dearborn explained. He stated that the event will also be livestreamed on Facebook in order to update residents on Santa’s location.
“We actually started [Santa Run] during the COVID lockdown as a way just to kind of bolster community spirit,” Dearborn said, stating that the event began in 2020. “A lot of events weren’t happening [in 2020] so we came up with the concept just to drive him around town and it was way more successful than we ever imagined.”
Dearborn explained that last year more than 1,000 residents waved to Santa on the side of the street. This year, the Santa Run will include a couple decorated fire trucks and police cars, similar to a short parade, he stated.
“People have turned it in to quite an event. We go by streets where they’re having house parties at the end of the street where whole neighborhoods would gather,” Dearborn said.
This year, the route will be similar to last year’s, beginning at the Community House. After departing, the trucks will follow Longmeadow Street down to Forest Glen Road, then onto Laurel Street and Willams Street The trucks will then follow two additional loops before returning to the department via Frank Smith Road, Wolf Swamp Road and Maple Road.
For more information about the event, visit Longmeadow Fire Department’s Facebook page.