Seward holding 14th annual Christmas Festival on Small Business Saturday

SEWARD, Neb. (KOLN) – Known as the Fourth of July City, Seward knows a thing or two about putting on a big event. And that’s no different for their annual Christmas Festival.

“We kind of think of the Seward Christmas festival as a mini Fourth of July and so we have about 5,000 of our closest friends come to downtown to just have fun throughout the day,” said Seward Chamber president Jonathan Jank.

This is the 14th year of the festival and it all started when Lincoln’s now defunct Star City Parade ended in 2009.

Seward purchased the floats and moved them to the city for their own parade.

“We have a sleigh for Santa and we have a 37 foot long polar bear,” said Jank.

The lighted parade which kicks off at 5:30 p.m. is just one aspect of the event though. There are lots more fun activities for families.

The day-long festival starts at 8 a.m. with the reindeer run kicking off from the middle school.

Santa will arrive downtown for the festivities at 10 a.m. aboard one of Seward’s fire trucks.

Families will also be able to see the “Grinch” at the Rivoli theater free of charge as well.

“The reason this goes well is it pairs right in line with our Small Business Saturday. And so it’s just a great time for people to come shop local,” Jank said.

It will also be easier to shop now because after months of construction, Highway 15 is finally fully open.

A full schedule of events is pictured below.

For more information on the event visit the Seward Chamber website.

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