Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
Santa Claus waves to bystanders during the 2016 Chelsea Christmas Parade. This year he will ride through town atop a fire engine.
Santa Claus is making a stop over in Chelsea this year, and not just on Christmas Eve. And instead of his typical form of travel — on his sleigh with his reindeer — he will ride through town atop Chelsea Fire and Rescue fire engines.
During this year’s Santa Stop, sponsored by Chelsea Fire and Rescue, Santa will take two routes on Engines 31 and 32, riding through Chelsea neighborhoods and tossing candy following the Chelsea Christmas Parade on Dec. 16 which starts at 10 a.m.
Santa Stops start at 1 p.m. and continue until around 7 p.m., although the routes and times may be affected pending emergencies.
The Santa Stop is an annual event, which allows families to greet Santa Claus as he rides through the neighborhood. One of the most rewarding parts, said Chelsea Fire and Rescue Public Information Officer Paul Williams, is seeing how excited kids get as Santa rides by.
“We know we’re a big part of the community, because we always respond to people when they’re in need. It’s fun for us to go out and do something like the Santa Run because we know it’s something the community looks forward to, every year,” Williams said. “So to be able to do something that just brings happiness to the community makes us happy. It’s hard to beat big smiles and sheer excitement from the kids when they see Santa coming down the street in the fire engine.”
Engine 31 will start its route at Essex Drive and Cliff Road, continuing down U.S. 280 toward Forest Lakes and along Chesser Drive — including a stop at Fire Station 31. Other stops include Lester’s Chapel and Liberty Cove. The engine’s route is set to end at Pin Oak Drive and Sassafras Circle around 7:10 p.m.
Engine 32 will start at the gas station on the corner of Shelby 69 and 47, continuing through Twelve Oaks, past Fire Station 32 and toward Chelsea Station. It will also make stops along Shelby 338 and in Lime Creek, wrapping up the route around 6:55 p.m.
The full schedule is as follows:
ENGINE 31
1:00 Essex Drive & Cliff Road
1:20 Woodbury Drive & Forest Park Road
1:30 Woodbury Drive & Landale Drive
1:40 Forest Lakes Parkway & Forest Lakes Lane
1:50 Forest Lakes Lane & Forest Lakes Blvd.
2:00 Foothills Ledge & Foothills Parkway
2:10 Foothills Trace & Foothills Parkway
2:20 Fire Station 31 (160 Chesser Drive)
2:30 Chesser Park Drive & Chesser Loop Road
2:40 Chesser Plantation Lane & Scarlet Court
2:50 Chesser Plantation Lane & Chesser Circle
3:00 Signal Valley Trail & Skyridge
3:10 Polo Field Way & Polo Downs
3:20 Greenbrier Place in the Cul-de-sac
BREAK
4:00 Parkmont Lane & Parkmont Way
4:10 Fairbank Lane & Chelsea Park Bend
4:20 Chelsea Park Bend & Chelsea Park Ridge
4:30 Fairbank Way & Preston Lane
4:40 Lake Chelsea Drive & Lake Chelsea Court
4:50 Springfield Drive & Springfield Circle
5:10 Shorefront Lane & Shoreline Way
5:25 Chelsea Ridge Road & Highway 49
5:35 Highway 49 & Spring Branch Road
5:45 Lester's Chapel & Highway 47
6:00 Tara Drive & Bonnie Blue Lane
6:15 Liberty Cove & Liberty Court
6:25 Liberty Ridge Road & Country Cove
6:35 Little Creek Circle & Helms Drive
6:50 Pin Oak Drive & Sassafras Circle
7:00 Sweet Gum Drive & Beech Circle
7:10 Twin Oaks Circle & Twin Oaks Way
ENGINE 32
1:00 Hwy 69 & Hwy 47 @ gas station
1:10 Twelve Oaks in Cul-de-sac
1:20 Fire Station 32 (1469 Hwy 69)
1:40 Shelby Forest Drive & Shelby Forest Trail
1:50 Shelby Forest Way & Shelby Forest Court
2:00 Woodbridge Tail & Woodbridge Drive
2:10 Cameron Drive & Cameron Circle
2:20 Highland Ridge Drive & Highland Ridge
2:30 Grand Vista Way & Alta Vista Drive
2:40 El Camino Real & Caballo Circle
2:50 River Birch & Mimosa Circle
3:00 Willow Branch Lane & Willow Branch Circle
3:10 Sunset Lake Drive & Sunset Lake Circle
3:20 Sydney Place
3:30 Hodgens Road & Shady Branch Circle
3:40 Chelsea Station Drive & Chelsea Station Circle
3:50 Brynleigh Drive & Brynhurst Drive
BREAK
4:30 Kings Home Drive & Kinnebrew Drie
4:40 Branch Drive & Brook Circle
4:50 Hwy 338 & Rich Drive
5:00 Hwy 338 & Charob Lake Trail
5:15 Ashton Woods Drive & Woodcrest Circle
5:25 Hunter Hills Drive & Hunter Hills Circle
5:35 Windstone Parkway & Windstone Circle
5:45 Flag Stone Drive
5:55 Crossbrook Drive & Crossbrook Circle
6:10 Baron Drive & Baron Lane
6:20 Emerald Creek Lane & Lime Creek Way
6:35 Lime Creek Lane & Lime Creek Way
6:45 Lime Creek Lane & Lime Creek Bend
6:55 Lime Creek Lane & Lime Creek Circle
*All times are approximate, pending emergencies.
