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A first annual Jasper Parade of Lights is planned for Friday, Dec. 19 at 6:30 p.m. The Jasper City Council during its Nov. 18 meeting approved a request from Angelica Rieck to block off streets to hold the event.
Rieck said later that the parade will follow the same route as the Quartziter Days Parade, beginning by the baseball fields at the top of the hill, heading down Wall Street and then going right on Sherman Avenue. Those interested in participating should contact Rieck to register and must pay a $5 fee that she said will be used to add decorations to the parade and community and hopefully bring Santa to the parade. Participants will line up around 5 p.m. or 5:30 p.m.
Rieck said she’s hoping for at least 30 parade entries and said entries from outside of Jasper are welcome. She said participants can throw candy during the parade and the more decorations on the vehicles, the better. They’re also hoping to have an announcer during the parade.
Near the end of the parade route, in front of Memorial Hall, there will be a table with hot chocolate for $1 and free popcorn.
Rieck, who opened The Gathering Table earlier this year, said she and her mother, Nichole Rieck, used to go to the lighted parade in Sioux Falls and had been talking about having a lighted parade in Jasper for a few years.
“We kind of just waited, hoping that someone would do it, and now that we’re more of a staple in town, we just figured why not try,” she said.
She said they’re hoping the parade will become an annual event and that the goal is to start a new tradition and make new memories.
“We want it to be a night to remember for the kids,” Rieck said.