SANTA’S Holiday Tour will be taking a new route this year on Sunday, Nov. 28 to visit all the girls and boys in town!
By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — All the girls and boys in town along with their friends and families are in for a special treat this Sunday, November 28 when Santa Claus comes to visit!
Through a special arrangement with the Reading-North Reading Chamber of Commerce, the big guy himself is taking a break from toy-making over the Thanksgiving weekend because he wants to spread some cheerfulness to all of the town’s children a little bit early this year.
Santa knows that once again COVID has made it difficult for the little ones to visit with him and get their photographs taken while whispering their secret wishes in his ear. And he knows how good all the schoolchildren have been this past year, especially when being asked to do things they may not like to do, such as wearing their masks while indoors at school or on their school buses. And he sees you studying hard, trying your best in your activities, helping your parents out at home, and being nice to others.
So from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, Santa will be visiting as many neighborhoods as he possibly can in North Reading as the special guest of the Chamber. Santa will roll through town in an open-air vehicle. Write your letters to Santa now and then be sure to be thinking of your special wishes when waving hello as he and his entourage from the RNR Chamber make their special visit to North Reading’s children in their neighborhoods.
The North Reading Police Department has been given the awesome assignment of escorting the mini parade through town again this year. There will be Christmas music and holiday tunes and treats and decorated vehicles too.
RNR Chamber Executive Director Lisa Egan reminds everyone that this parade is being held in lieu of an official ceremony to light up all the trees on the town common this year because they did not want to have one very large group of people congregating in one spot for too long or crowding themselves into the historic buildings that surround the common. However, she says the Chamber will continue to sponsor the lighting up of the town common with festive holiday lights at dusk starting Sunday night. The lights will remain lit throughout the holiday season.
Sunday is also the first night of Hanukkah. A few years ago a private group approached the town seeking to have a festive menorah added to the display and it has been included in the holiday display every year since then, on the Bow Street side of the common facing the library, not far from the Christmas tree.
As Santa’s parade will meander throughout town it will take over two hours for Santa to complete his route so please be patient and plan fun activities with friends and neighbors close to home on Sunday!
There is a map of the parade route inside today’s Transcript that was carefully crafted with the assistance of North Reading Police Sgt. Timothy King. The Transcript is also providing complete turn-by-turn directions of the parade route to help families gauge the best locations and approximate arrival times of when the parade will pass through or near their neighborhoods. The NRPD reminds children to be sure to steer clear of the moving vehicles when they pass by. This is a rain or shine event.
Turn-by-turn directions of Santa’s Parade Route
The starting point for Santa’s Parade is Storage Solutions at 35 Main St. and the end point is the Batchelder School at 175 Park St. The entire route is nearly 3 miles in length.
KEY REFERENCE POINTS ON MAP:
A = North Reading Storage Solutions, 35 Main St.
B = Old Andover Road
C = Pine Ridge Road
D = 38 Anthony Rd
E = Little Meadow Way
F = Olde Coach Road
G = Kings Row
H = 16 Chestnut St
I = 43 Spruce Rd
J = Batchelder School
Turn-by-turn directions of Santa’s Parade Route
__35 Main St, North Reading, MA 01864
__Head north on Main St. [Rte. 28N]; go 1.72 mi
__Turn left onto Burroughs Rd; go 0.725 mi
__Burroughs Rd turns right and becomes Old Andover Rd; go 945 ft
__Continue onto Virginia Rd [@ Wilmington line]; go 390 ft
__Turn right onto Old Andover Rd; go 712 ft
__Continue onto Comeau Rd; go 627 ft
__Continue onto Lakeside Blvd.; go 0.574 mi
__Turn left onto Burroughs Rd.; go 0.450 mi
__Turn right onto Main St. [Rte. 28S]; go 1,263 ft
__Turn left onto North St; go 0.889 mi
__Turn left onto Pine Ridge Rd; go 1,227 ft
__Head north on Pine Ridge Rd toward Sandy Ln; go 610 ft
__Turn right onto Puritan Rd.; go 1,024 ft
__Turn right onto Shady Hill Dr.; go 0.326 mi
__Turn left onto Sunset Ave.; go 928 ft
__Continue straight onto Wagon Dr.; go 351 ft
__Turn right onto Wyoming Ave.; go 0.273 mi
__Turn left onto North St;. go 0.491 mi
__Turn left onto Haverhill St.; go 0.729 mi
__Turn left onto Peter Rd.; go 0.564 mi
__Turn right onto Anthony Rd.; go 0.510 mi
__Turn right onto Haverhill St.; 0.365 mi
__Turn left onto Marblehead St.; go 1,276 ft
__Turn left onto Little Meadow Way; go 528 ft
__Turn left onto Marblehead St.; go 0.409 mi
__Turn right onto Olde Coach Rd.; go 525 ft
__Turn right onto Marblehead St.; go 0.397 mi
__Turn right onto Kings Row; go 0.283 mi
__Continue onto Equestrian Dr.; go 0.322 mi
__Turn left onto Strawberry Ln.; go 0.493 mi
__Turn right onto Susan Dr.; go 522 ft
__Turn left onto Orchard Dr.; go 0.409 mi
__Slight right onto Elm St to Washington St [Rte 62W]; go 1,286 ft
__Turn left onto Park St East; go 1.04 mi
__Turn right onto Chestnut St.; go 105 ft
__Turn left onto Marshall St.; go 0.537 mi
__Continue onto Parker Dr.; go 0.306 mi
__Turn left onto Chestnut St.; go .0345 mi
__ At intersection, turn left onto Haverhill St.; go 75 ft
__Turn immediate right onto Chestnut St.; go 0.746 mi
__Turn left onto Park St [Rte 62W]; go 735 ft
__Turn right onto Freedom Dr.; go 0.402 mi
__Turn left onto Patriot Way; go 0.314 mi
__Turn left onto Spruce Rd.; go 0.319 mi
__Head north on Spruce Rd toward Eagle Dr.; go 0.341 mi
__Turn left to stay on Spruce Rd.; go 0.305 mi
__Turn right onto Central St.; go 0.684 mi
__Turn left onto Park St. [Rte. 62E]; go 0.517 mi
__Turn left at destination [Batchelder School].
