Community Corner
PHOTOS: Holiday Hoopla Welcomes Christmas Spirit to Cedar Falls
Thousands crowded Main Street to get an early view of Santa and listen to holiday songs.
Santa dropped from the sky this year to officially kick-off Christmas on Main Street during the third annual Holiday Hoopla.
The event began Friday with local performers singing Christmas songs and entertaining the large crowd waiting for Santa's arrival. Every year the coordinaters think up a different, creative way for Santa to arrive. This year, his arrival was in a helicopter complete with red and white blinking lights.
"We start working in January for the next year. It's a lot of fun and we need a lot of volunteers and sponsers to pull it off," Carol Lilly, the director of said.
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After Santa landed, he and Mrs. Clause were lead by drummers, Joseph Wielinski, 14, and Jarod Smith, 13. They walked halfway across the bridge leading to North Main Street, and the crowd watched as Santa lit the Holiday Hoopla tree and the fireworks show began.
"There are weeks we work 20 to 30 hours on planning Holiday Hoopla," one of the organizers, Amy Rinnels, said. "I love Holiday Hoopla; it's my favorite night of the year."