The 2023 Big Sandy Christmas Stroll took place last weekend drawing long time Big Sandy residents, newly arrived neighbors, and visitors from neighboring towns. Some vendors reported slower traffic than normal, while others expressed excitement over the amount of business they had. Regardless, they all agreed that the feel of community as well as the Christmas spirit pervaded every aspect of the day.
The morning kicked off with breakfast with Santa at the senior center. They served scrambled eggs, pancakes, and sausage to families stopping in to take pictures with Santa. The event attracted enough people to account for 80 meals in total. This year's Santa was played by Holden O'Dell, who most locals know from his job at The Grocery Store. The Senior Center lunch was Tex-Mex, which is a continuation of last year's offering and attracted close to the same volume of patrons.
Christmas strollers who brought their children to enjoy the day had a new option: making Christmas ornaments at the Elevated Grains Bakery in town while their parents enjoyed a specialty coffee or delicious baked good from the case. Big Sandy Church of God ran the ornament creation table at the bakery, which was put together by Emily. Adult and teenage volunteers helped a steady stream of kids roll out salt dough and cut ornaments out for baking. It was a hit and will return next year. Emily LePinnet, who owns the bakery explained that this was her first Christmas Stroll since her family moved to Big Sandy. She described the day as "a lot of fun" and went on to say "It was nice to see so many people in the community get together to just spend time together and enjoying each other's company and celebrating the holiday season." For her, the "Best part was definitely looking out into my dining room here and seeing just a whole bunch of kids doing a hands-on activity and just enjoying their time and doing stuff with their parents too. It was so was nice." The bakery had a busy day with a lot of traffic. She is planning on doing it all again next year.
The big attraction for the day, as always, was the sale at the old fire hall. Patrons walking in the door were greeted by Michelle Danreuther, who played Christmas songs on the harp for patrons. This was her second year playing harp for the sale. She explained that she volunteered last year and was invited this year, which she reasoned meant folks must have enjoyed it.
Scarlet Auble, whose family moved to Big Sandy from Pennsylvania last year, staffed a raffle and gift wrapping table fundraising for 4H. She explained that she attended part of the stroll last year, but was getting the full experience this year. "I love it. I actually think it's really nice that the community does stuff like this. It brings everybody together." She and her children were looking forward to the parade that evening.
Vendors offered a wide variety of gift options, treats, raffles, and other Christmas fun for visitors. I spoke with vendors who gave me mixed reports of their sales this year, with some experiencing brisk sales and others noting a bit of a slowdown. Overall no one was disappointed in the day. At least part of that had to do with the overall experience working at the sale. Megan Brown told me that she ran her booth at the sale annually and had been for the last "four or five years." Though selling her cards and purses was the main goal, she largely does it to see and visit with neighbors and friends who stop in.
Charlotte Danreuther, who opened her pottery shop doors for the first time at last year's stroll, said she had made quite a few sales and had a good day. For her, the best part of the Christmas Stroll is the community: "I think just seeing people having lots of chats here and there. People. I think that's the best part."
The Grinch, Anna, and Elsa made an appearance once again. Wyatt Williams, who played the grinch alongside his sisters and cousin in Frozen outfits. This was his second year as the Grinch, which he seemed to enjoy. He explained that the best part of the job was, "Really just having fun and messing with people."
The Library hosted a friends of the library fundraiser raffle, giving away baskets of goodies, which drew a steady stream of guests. They also ran a Christmas movie for kids on the projector and set up ornament-making crafts.
Craig Edwards opened his gallery, which saw a steady stream of traffic throughout the day. He attributes some of the traffic to advertising he did in neighboring communities. Craig explained that the stroll was always a good time, seeing neighbors new and old come through to visit.
I spoke with James, an out-of-towner, who was visiting the stroll for the first time. He was very positive about the stroll and his experience visiting the community. "Big Sandy Community is outstanding all the way around." He went on to explain that Helena, where he lives, doesn't do anything like our stroll. Further, the small community in the midwest he moved here from didn't do anything of this sort either. "That's the advantage of small towns. It's community, and people treat each other like family."
The evening brought on the annual parade and drawing. Attendees of the Christmas button drawing reported that the room was packed as Travis Baumann hosted and distributed prizes.
With another Christmas Stroll in the books and the holiday season in Big Sandy officially underway, please take time to thank the various store owners, vendors, and locals who helped put on the event. Especially take the time to thank the Big Sandy CSI organizers who are helping keep the tradition alive for our community.
