ASHLAND — Explore Ashland will debut a new Christmas tradition: Lights & Delights Christmas Drive-Thru at the Ashland County Fairgrounds in December.
The drive-through will open Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. for visitors. It will run in December from Thursday to Sunday every week from 6 to 9 p.m, with the last day set for Dec. 28.
The price is not definitive yet, but Vice President of Membership and Marketing Emily Grimm said the working prices are $10 per car, $20 per small bus or transport van and $50 per large/charter bus.
Explore Ashland is looking for volunteers from businesses, church groups, civic organizations, 4-H groups, book clubs and anyone with holiday cheer to help set up the event.
There is no cost for groups or individuals to set up a space at the fairgrounds, but Explore Ashland is asking those groups to provide lights and other decorations.
Volunteers can register for a 10×10-foot space, 20×10 space or 50×10 space until the event sets up in November. The size of the drive-through will depend on the amount of registered spaces.
The goal is to reach 100 registrations from volunteers. Volunteers can register by filling out the display application and sending it to Emily Grimm at emily@ashlandoh.com or Kaylee Billinghurst at kaylee@ashlandoh.com.
Right now, 40 individuals/organizations are registered, Grimm said.
People will come to set up the event during the week before Thanksgiving, and take the decorations down during the first week in January.
Grimm said she wants to keep the drive-through along the paved roads at the fairgrounds, but if there are an excess of registrations, Explore Ashland will look into including more space.
“With this being our first year, we don’t know what to expect, but we’re really excited,” Grimm said.
She started talking about this idea in October of 2024 because people have always said it would be nice to have a Christmas event that is not outdoors, such as the Candy Cane at Freer Field.
The idea was perfect, Grimm said, because “We can lean on our community that loves to celebrate everything Ashland.”
Grimm said the goal is to make the event annual, and eventually expanding it to include other components, such as a Christmas market.
