Whoville Cruisin with Barbara Bigelow - 12/09/20

We are once again talking with Barbara Bigelow about all the different things that are happening in downtown Columbus for Christmas.

1208-pkg eric crosswhite: welcome back.

We are once again talking with barbara bigelow about all the different things that are happening for christmas downtown this time of year.

I know you're limited on what you can do this year.

Barbara bigelow: we are but we're just trying to make the best of it and make it fun for the whole community to enjoy this holiday season.

Eric crosswhite: one of those things that people normally love to do is come out to the christmas parade, that obviously is not going to work out this year.

What are you guys doing to substitute that?

Barbara bigelow: absolutely.

Well, we're doing a little substitute parade, we're calling it whoville cruisin'.

We invite the public to bring your car, or your truck, or your golf cart, or your gator.

Decorate it up like the grinch or whoville style.

Be at the farmer's market on saturday, december the 12th between two and three o'clock.

We'll form a line.

At 3:30 the parade, we'll call it, will begin.

We'll have a police escort.

We'll just cruise around town.

We'll do three good laps and then return to the farmer's market.

If you want to cruise more you can, only if your vehicle is street legal of course.

But we just invite people to do a little decorating on their vehicles and bring the family down and just cruise a little bit.

Hopefully it'll be a beautiful saturday afternoon on december the 12th.

We will be giving, the grinch might give a prize.

You never know there might be a grinch's choice for the coolest vehicle or something.

Dress up.

Just have fun.

We just want to have fun this holiday season.

Eric crosswhite: yeah i think a lot of people are looking for the opportunity to do that while still being able to be safe and social distance.

This is the perfect event for that.

You guys have had to be creative in your thinking with events like these.

Barbara bigelow: well, we have and my mind is about done.

Eric crosswhite: it's cooked.

Barbara bigelow: no i've had a lot of help and we have a lot of volunteers that help us at main street so we're very fortunate there, very fortunate.

I encourage people after you cruise stop in at the stores, they'll be open that day.

Stop and shop, have dinner at one of our downtown restaurants or something to that effect when you get through cruising around.

Eric crosswhite: absolutely.

And that's one of the great thing about having events down here is it reminds people of the businesses that are open, gets them maybe thinking about christmas shopping, that works out really, really well.

Barbara bigelow: well that'll just be a couple of weeks before christmas.

Eric crosswhite: yeahyeah, exactly.

If you're not ready by then you want to get working on it for sure.

Barbara bigelow: you better get on it.

Eric crosswhite: and barbara, are you hoping that this lifts people's spirits up as we end the year?

I know it's been a tough year on everybody.

Barbara bigelow: it really has been but we've got resilient merchants downtown throughout the community actually and we're just so proud of them.

And i just encourage people them.

And i just encourage people to shop local, as i always say shop small and shop downtown.

Support our community as a whole eric crosswhite: all right.

So when will this whoville cruisin' be?

Barbara bigelow: whoville cruisin', december the 12th which is a saturday gather at the farmer's market between two and three o'clock and we'll start cruising at 3:30.

We'll have a little grinch ceremony about 3:15.

We start cruising at 3:30.

Eric crosswhite: all right.

It sounds like it'll be a great event.

Barbara anything else you want to add or talk about?

Barbara bigelow: i think that's all.

I'll just reiterate that all of our events of course have followed the mandate so we ask you to do your social distancing, wear your mask even when you're cruising.

Of course when you're in the car with your family we understand that's a little different circumstance.

Eric crosswhite: yeah but wear that mask out, try and stay six feet apart, all that good stuff.

Barbara bigelow: absolutely.

Please do.

Eric crosswhite: thanks so much.

Barbara bigelow: thank you.

I appreciate it so much.