Christmas miracle

EPHRATA — “But thou, Bethlehem Ephrata, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel...” (Micah 5:2)

When your town is named for the site of the Nativity, you kind of have to go all-out for Christmas. And that’s what our little town of Ephrata does every December with its Miracle on Main Street celebration. The event dates back to 2006, said organizer Rita Witte. Last year’s festival mostly took place at the rec center; this year the format was a little different, with events scattered at various locations downtown.

The day started with a new event, Breakfast with Santa. Witte estimated that 110 people, maybe a few more, turned out to have pancakes with the jolly man in the red suit. That was followed by a story time at the Ephrata public library, which senior Librarian Aaron Loeffelbein said attracted about 25 kids. The first 45 minutes was spent with library staff reading six or seven books to the audience, Loeffelbein said, and then moved on to making ornaments at a craft table, wrapping up the session with a movie to “keep them from going too crazy,” Loeffelbein chuckled.

Meanwhile, at the Pita Pit, the scavenger hunt was in full force, with 11 teams scrambling among a dozen businesses around town taking photos and collecting souvenirs. “The scavenger hunt has not been done for quite a while,” said Witte. “So 11 teams, that’s great. It’s a start to get it coming back again.”

Next came Christmas Bingo, also at the Pita Pit, where Witte and Jessica Fleurkens called numbers for prizes of Christmas candy and ornaments.

At 3 p.m. runners gathered at the old American West Bank building for the 3-mile fun run through downtown. A total of 76 runners turned out, said Wendy Bilodeau, who organized the race. The weather was chilly for a race, but the runners, including lots of kids, were undeterred.

“We’re very fortunate not to have freezing rain, and no wind, considering it’s December,” Bilodeau said.

By the time the race ended, police had already blocked off the parade route and participants were busily gussying up their floats.

“I think we had about 10 or 11 floats,” Witte said. “They were all really special. To have everybody put all that work into it just for a few minutes (or parade time), it was really great.”

Opinions were mixed on how suitable the weather was for the parade. City manager Wes Crago felt that some snow would be in order, to give it a romantic feel. Tami Cleveringa, who was helping deck the New Life Christian Academy bus in lights, thought the conditions were an improvement over the past.

“Two years ago we had a flatbed with hay bales and it poured,” she said, which is why they were going to play it safe with the bus this year.

The floats may not have been numerous, but they were certainly impressive. Best Western Rama Inn had a flatbed truck turned into two replica hotel rooms. Their efforts earned them first prize in the parade judging. Second place went to the Stardust Cowgirls Drill Team, whose float featured a wooden one-horse open sleigh and lots of lights. Third place went to Ephrata FFA, who rode behind a tractor decorated with eyes, antlers and (of course) a shiny red nose.

The day finished off with fireworks set off from Patrick Park.

Overall, Witte said, she was very impressed with how the event came off.

“We feel like we had a very big show,” she said. “It all went smoothly.

“It goes up and it goes down, like anything. It just depends on how much excitement we can get in the community. I think that makes a big difference, I think having a great weekend like this fuels it, so people say, ‘Yeah, that was great. Maybe next year we’ll do a float. Maybe next year we’ll do the fun run. Maybe next year we’ll get involved and want to participate.’ It really helps to build on our community and make it a happy place.”