Holiday Hoopla kicks off Cheney Christmas

CHENEY – The annual Holiday Hoopla kicked off on a cold clear night in the Holiday Inn Parking lot.

More than 45 cars lined up to follow Santa and his homemade sleigh to look at the best Christmas lights displays around town.

The tour ended with a drive-in movie showing of "The Polar Express."

This is Kyle Lesser's second year as Santa Claus and said he still felt nervous to don the red outfit and frosty white beard because ole St. Nick is nothing short of a childhood icon for many.

"It's a lot of pressure," Lesser said.

Starting his reign as the new local Santa Claus during the COVID-19 pandemic was important because it was a time where families were starving for safe, friendly holiday activities.

Last year's Hoopla ended up bringing in around 120 cars despite the absolute frigid weather, Lesser said.

This year, Santa led the Hoopla in a flatbed truck decked out with a metal cutout of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.

The cutout was made with a plasma table and mounted to the front of the truck.

Lesser created the sleigh with his buddy, "Pete," at work and the finishing touch was "deciding to go Clark Griswald with the lights."

There was a line of eager children standing in the cold with their parents waiting to meet Santa Claus and tell him what they want for Christmas.

Kaimbrie Romero, 2, came to the Hoopla with her mother, Kaytlyn Dahlin, and she couldn't wait to tell Santa about Elsa from Disney's "Frozen," which was a common theme among several children.

Jaden Smith had a much less practical request – a "race car."

A long line of cars started driving through the city around 5:30 p.m. to look at the best Christmas lights display.

In all, 21 houses signed up for the contest and there were three winners:

· 604 Sunrise Drive took home the first-place prize of $300 dollars.

· 636 Salnave won $200 for second-place.

· 1804 Fifth Street took home bronze and won $100.