Polar Express a huge success
The festively decorated Kellogg High School during the successful Silver Valley Polar Express. The event saw more than 350 kids make their way safely through the fun holiday event.
Courtesy photo
Somebody should probably keep an eye on Mr. Grinch here… We all know how he handles Christmas.
“It was amazing.”
That seems to be what everyone is saying about Kellogg High School’s Silver Valley Polar Express event from Wednesday evening.
Cars lined the street from the top of Jacobs Gulch all the way down Cameron Avenue to Silver Valley Tire as families waited for their turn to drive through the fun and festive atmosphere.
Originally a joint project between KHS United, KHS Leadership and the National Honor Society, when the schools went to full-time remote learning it became a project that required more staff involvement than students.
“We had some awesome people step up to help us pull this off and I’m so thankful that they did,” said coordinator Sarah Burkgart. “This was such an awesome experience for us and we couldn’t have done it without all of the help and support we received.”
More than 350 kids made their way through the social distanced and COVID-conscious event and participated in many fun games and activities along the way.
“Seeing the kids have something to be excited about made it worth all of the work,” Burkgart said. “And it wasn’t just kids from the Kellogg School District, we had kids from all over the Valley, and even saw quite a few license plates from other counties as well.”
Almost immediately following the event, local social media platforms exploded with reports from happy families who were just happy to finally do something with their families that was in the Christmas spirit and not canceled due to the ongoing pandemic.
Burkgart would like to thank all of the volunteers for their help and participation, the cities of Wallace and Smelterville for donating decorations, Kellogg Plastics for their donations, and to Shoshone County Fire District No. 1 for the use of their Grinch costume.
With the success of this first-time event, Burkgart said that the plan is to absolutely make the event an annual one and hopes that when this time rolls around next year, that more people can be involved in a more hands-on way.
