It’s 9:50 a.m. on Saturday morning and sirens are wailing! Lights are flashing! And lo! It’s Santa and his firefighting contingent coming to visit kids (and their adults) all over Acton. In an annual event stretching back to somewhere around 1999, the Acton firefighters make the rounds with a variety of apparatus, including two 1936 fire engines, to visit with kids and collect food for the Acton Food Pantry.
The vehicle brigade included the two antique fire engines, a modern ladder truck, the brush truck and its big black trailer, and several fire and police cars. In addition to the sirens, the parade was accompanied by Christmas music.
This annual event was organized by Acton Fire Department employees Lieutenant Brent Carter and Tom Matthews, Police Officer Jon Stackhouse, owner of Cucurbit Farm Heidi Nelson, and several other folks. This year, Acton firefighter Brian Smith played the role of Santa. He stopped to talk with kids while elves handed out candy canes and collected bags of goods for the Acton Food Pantry.
If Santa isn’t your style, you could also pose with the Grinch (Forrest Gyurcsik) to the delight of several kids.
The annual Santa Ride comes around every year, following a well-publicized route (including in last week’s Acton Exchange Bulletin Board). Stops included Cucurbit Farm, the Acton Memorial Library, the old Nagog Woods Post Office, and NARA Park. This year, the Acton Fire Department collected about 1500 pounds of groceries for the Food Pantry. Cucurbit Farm, in South Acton, assisted with collecting and storing food during December.
Lieutenant Carter said that going to the neighborhoods is great fun. Some neighborhoods have annual block parties for the Santa Ride, where the kids dress up and hot chocolate is served. He mentioned that last year, which was the first year that the Grinch joined the ride, a small Cindy Lou Who was very excited! He really loves seeing the little kids’ enjoyment and reading the letters from Santa that the kids bring to the ride.
Miriam Lezak is an associate editor for the Acton Exchange who still likes watching the annual Santa Ride.