When it comes to its annual holiday parade, GEARS is getting creative.
This year's event, called the Jingle Bell Drive, will be a "reverse parade," held Saturday, Dec. 5, from 4 to 6 p.m. It will begin at the Elizabethtown Fairgrounds, 900 E. High St., and end in the parking lot of Elizabethtown Brethen in Christ (BIC) Church, 996 E. High St.
The parade committee is accepting applications for parade participants. The deadline to apply is Tuesday, Nov. 10. To apply, readers may call 717-367-0355 or email Nate Diegel at natediegel@getintogears.org.
The idea for the parade came after a brainstorming session for what to do to replace the traditional event, said Karen Eberly, senior program coordinator for GEARS.
For the reverse parade, displays will be stationed at the fairgrounds and in the church parking lot, and cars will drive through the parade.
"We met and walked through the route, and we think we can fit up to 50 elements in the area and still be socially distanced," Eberly noted.
Doing the parade this way not only makes it a safer event, but also opens up participation to a wider range of groups, she said.
"In the past, you had to have a way to pull your element through the route, like a truck or a car, or you were walking the whole distance," she explained. "For this year, you can literally just have a canopy and set up a nice element for people to see as they drive by."
Although the logistics of the parade have changed, the feel of the event will be the same, she noted.
"We still want this to look like a parade," Eberly said. "We want people to decorate their element just like they would if it were a float."
Entry in the parade is free. Awards will be presented for Best of Show, Nonprofit Winner and For-Profit Winner. Voting will be conducted through the GEARS Facebook page.
Attendance at the parade is by donation to GEARS to cover costs associated with the event.
"We are excited to try this because we were trying to come up with stuff to give people who still want to participate in events," Eberly said. "We're not going to let anybody get out of their car as they go through. We're trying to have as little exposure to other people as possible."
She said she hopes to give out goodie bags to all attendees, and she is looking for donations of treats or money to create the bags.
At the end of the parade, Santa and Mrs. Claus will greet attendees from a safe distance, and children will have a chance to send a letter to Santa in a drop box.
"If they would like a return letter, they can put a self-addressed, stamped envelope with their letter, and our Santa will hand-write a letter back to them," Eberly said.
She encourages parade goers to get into the spirit of the event by decorating their cars as well, as long as all decorations are road safe.
"We are going to have fire police on site, and the Rotary Club will be there to direct people through," Eberly said. "We want people to be patient, be courteous, and, most importantly, to enjoy the parade."
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