Christmas in Fraser brings yuletide cheer

FRASER — Christmas in Fraser returned to Steffens Park Dec. 7 with added activities to get attendees into a noel state of mind.

“I thought it went great,” Fraser Mayor Michael Lesich said. “We seemed to have had more people this year than last year. By all accounts, people I talked to said it was amazing.”

Santa was on hand at the event and received a key to the city from Lesich in order to make his deliveries a bit easier.

The event featured ice sculpture carving, fire dancing and a petting zoo with pony rides. The petting zoo and fire performance were added this year. Dancers from the Encore the Dance Centre did a performance. The Fraser High School marching band did a set ranging from classics to contemporary songs like Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.”

Fraser First, a booster club in the city, provided hot chocolate and cookies. The national and junior honor societies from Fraser schools volunteered to serve hot dogs. Lesich said the Fraser Department of Works and Recreation Coordinator Chris Delmege outdid themselves with this year’s celebration.

The event stretches back at least 30 years, according to Lesich. The celebration was halted when the city had budget issues in 2017 and during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lesich said this was the best Christmas in Fraser the city has done in years.

“COVID hit, things slowed down and we’ve slowly been building this back up,” he said. “This is the best one we’ve had since COVID.”