Quincy prepares to celebrate Christmas season

QUINCY — The holiday season will come to Quincy with a parade, a living nativity, an in-person choral concert and other activities this weekend.

The Quincy Valley Christmas Holiday Celebration begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday with a parade of lighted vehicles through town. Harriet Weber, one of the organizers, said any and all vehicles are welcome, from cars to farm machinery. The staging area will be on B Street Southeast, between Central Avenue South and First Avenue Southeast.

Weber said the Rotary Club of Quincy is scheduled to enter a couple of examples of the light displays club members traditionally set up along Interstate 90, such as Santa in a sleigh.

“Last year, they redid a whole bunch of them,” Weber said.

The displays were made possible by an online fundraising campaign that generated a robust response, Weber said.

“The community really came together,” she said.

Some private property owners also have Christmas light displays along state Route 281, she said.

Santa and Mrs. Santa will be featured in the parade, and will be available for photos and to hear Christmas wishes from kids afterward in the Quincy Community Center, 115 F St. SW.

Saturday starts with a “craft market” in the barn at the Quincy Valley Historical Society & Museum, 415 F St. SW. The market will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will feature handcrafted items and lunch, featuring homemade soups, catered by This & That Catering.

Santa and Mrs. Claus will make a return trip to town during the craft market for pictures in the Pioneer Church next to the barn. The Reiman-Simmons House, next to the church, will host the display of a Christmas village made entirely of Lego blocks.

“Over 30 structures. Some of them are lighted,” Weber said.

A living nativity is scheduled for 5:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday on the museum grounds. People will park at the former Quincy Valley Fruit parking lot next door to the museum. Groups will get a guided tour through four stations of the nativity story, where a narrator describes the scene. People will be invited to the QVHSM barn for hot chocolate after they go through the nativity.

Sunday will feature the Community Christmas Concert presented by Quincy Valley Allied Arts. Singers take the stage at 6 p.m. in the Quincy High School performing arts center, 403 Jackrabbit St. NE.

Admission to all events is free.