LECLAIRE – Sharon Burds had a big day of shopping on Saturday, Dec. 7, during the 40th annual Christmas in LeClaire celebration. “I bought some pottery and a lot of little things for friends,” the Davenport woman said as she rested a few minutes on a bench in downtown and pointed to several bags filled […]
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“I bought some pottery and a lot of little things for friends,” the Davenport woman said as she rested a few minutes on a bench in downtown and pointed to several bags filled with gifts she bought.
While she loved the many activities and shopping opportunities that took place during the river city’s three-day celebration, she admitted that the star of the show Saturday was the weather. The annual Christmas walk was greeted by sunny, warm conditions for most of the holiday event, which ran from Friday through Sunday, Dec. 6-8. On Saturday, the temps reached the low 50s by early afternoon.
“It’s been beautiful all day. … What a day,” Ms. Burds added.
Thousands of other shoppers also were enjoying the beautiful weather during the holiday celebration. That weekend event included trolley rides, visits from Santa Claus, a breakfast with Santa, a Christmas parade, an Ugly Christmas Sweater 5K Run, horse-drawn carriage rides, a crafts show, a tree-lighting ceremony and, of course, a lot of shopping.
“We’ve got such a great mix of retail shops. … There’s so much you can do. You can come with a group of people and shop,” Cindy Bruhn, LeClaire tourism manager, said about the holiday celebration.
She added that the great weather – combined with a great selection of stores and activities – helped attract bigger crowds this year. She pointed out that many people said they enjoyed horse-drawn carriage rides, which returned to the celebration after being absent for several years.
One of the people enjoying all those activities was Kris Wilson of Bettendorf, who took part in the Ugly Christmas Sweater 5K Run on Saturday morning. The Bettendorf man was still wearing his holiday sweater – a blue sweater that depicted Santa playing an electric guitar and the words “Rock & Roll” – as he looked over the different shops in downtown LeClaire.
“I’m not much of a shopper, but the group I came with loves shopping … I just like the silliness of it all today,” he added.
Not too far from Mr. Wilson, Jessie Cartee of LeClaire was at the celebration with her three children – Easton, 6, Josie, 5, and Jensen, 3. The three kids were having a great time after they had a visit with Santa, who gave them some Christmas candy.
“I think the favorite part of this celebration is the candy canes they (the three children) just got from Santa. … We live near here and we came down to see what’s going on,” said Ms. Cartee.
In addition to Santa handing out candy and listening to kids’ wish lists, LeClaire was filled with people dressed as Christmas characters to help get shoppers into the spirit of the season. Two of those in character were Jennifer Tomlinson of East Moline and Jennifer Bertling of Davenport. Mr. Bertling was dressed as the Grinch and Ms. Tomlinson was dressed as a bag of toys being stolen by the Grinch.
“It’s great to see everybody here have some fun, and see people get into the costumes,” said Ms. Tomlinson.
For many people, though, the fun of the day centered on those shopping adventures. One of the busiest shopping destinations on Saturday was Aunt Hattie’s Fanciful Emporium gift shop at 102 S. Cody Road. That store attracted a huge crowd of shoppers around noon Saturday. The shoppers were looking at and buying everything from Caitlin Clark sweethearts to candles, games, baseball cards and even Darth Vader toasters.
“We’ve been selling a lot of gloves and tin signs. … It’s really all over the place,” said Wayne Walley, one of the owners of Aunt Hattie’s.
Across the street on Cody Road, a crowd was also gathered inside the Emily Found It store that showcases many vintage clothing and other items.
“It’s been busy today. People have been shopping for gifts. … It’s been all over the place today,” said Emily Gwin, the store’s owner.
Ms. Burds said she visited several of those retail shops in downtown LeClaire. All the Christmas events and characters helped get her in the holiday shopping mood. But she added that it was the sunny skies and spring-like temperatures that really inspired her to keep shopping.
“They had great weather for this event. What a day,” she added.
