Railside Christmas set for Friday
We may still be more than 30 days away from Christmas Day across the world, but in Grand Island, we're just a few days away from 2024's Railside Christmas.
Santa Claus and company will be back in Railside from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday to help kick off the holiday season in Grand Island.
Topping the five to seven vendors in past years, more than 20 vendors and dozens of stage performances are on the schedule.
Headlining the entertainment lineup for the first time will be Rascal Martinez, a popular Hear Grand Island regular, who will perform throughout the night in Amur Plaza.
"With Grand Island rapidly growing, we know the importance of keeping up when it comes to hosting community-wide events," said Railside board member Jackie Bowen. "This year's event will not only match that growth, but also help ring in the holiday cheer this event is centered around."
The event kicks off at 5:30 p.m. with Grand Island Mayor Roger Steele helping count down the lighting of the city tree shortly after 6 p.m. Performances and activities will then resume until 8:30 p.m. Activities include plenty of free options as well, such as horse-drawn wagon rides, the kid-friendly barrel train from Pete's Safari, meeting Santa and Mrs. Claus and much more.
This past Friday, city crews could be seen decorating the larger-than-life Christmas tree in downtown Grand Island. The 2024 tree was donated by area residents Bob and Cheryl Clymer, and it's now providing quite the festive feel in Railside.
"It's really great," Bowen said. "We have the new light pole decorations that maybe people have noticed, so it's really nice. It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!"
"It truly is heartwarming to see how much support this event has received over the years," Railside Director Sherry Siwinski said. "We can't wait to once again kick off the holiday season in style in Railside."
"Something this big has a lot of working parts," Bowen added. "We want to make sure this is the best ever. This is lots of planning and a lot of people doing awesome things."
