Santa might check his list twice, but he’s visiting Juneau three times in the next couple of days.
Capital City Fire/Rescue and Alaska State Firefighters Association-Juneau Chapter, Juneau Firefighters Local 4303 and Douglas Fire Association will hold a trio of Santa Rides events on Friday and Saturday to bring holiday cheer to an assortment of Juneau locales.
The first event is slated for 6 p.m. Friday in the Mendenhall Valley. The route starts at Sít’ Eetí Shaanáx-Glacier Valley School and ends at Glacier Valley Church of God. The Valley route follows Tongass Boulevard to Stephen Richards Memorial Drive to Riverside Drive to Long Run Road to Portage Boulevard to Aspen Avenue to Taku Boulevard to Thunder Mountain Road, according to a route map available online at https://www.asfajuneau.org/santa-rides.
On Saturday, there will be two chances to see Santa. Kris Kringle will be at Guening Park in Lemon Creek at 4 p.m., and at 6 p.m. he will join a parade spanning downtown Juneau and Douglas.
The Saturday parade will start at the Goldbelt Mount Roberts Tramway and conclude at the Douglas Fire Station.
The parade will follow South Franklin Street to Front Street to Main Street to Calhoun Avenue to Twelfth Street to Glacier Avenue to Behrends Avenue. The parade will use Behrends to loop back onto Glacier and proceed toward 10th Street. The parade will then cross the Douglas Bridge and follow 3rd Street to Foster Avenue before heading to downtown Douglas. In Douglas, the parade will take Second Street to St Ann’s Avenue to 5th Street to D Street, which will allow the parade to end at the fire station.
In a news release announcing the parades, City and Borough of Juneau asked attendees to maintain 6 feet of distance from people outside their social bubble and to wear masks if distancing is impossible. Additionally, the city asked attendees to refrain from hugging Santa or Mrs. Claus for the safety of first responders and their families.
• Contact Ben Hohenstatt at (907)308-4895 or bhohenstatt@juneauempire.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BenHohenstatt.
