Christmas On the Trail At Burlingame Country Christmas December 3

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By Frank J. Buchman

Christmas is in the air all around and no more than at Burlingame, Kansas.

“The Chamber of Commerce and all of the community have again gone all out for our 27th annual Burlingame Country Christmas celebration titled the Christmas on the Trail, Saturday, Dec. 3,” according to Mark Hecht, Burlingame businessman and Chamber of Commerce official.

Featuring “food, entertainment and shopping,”  there’ll be activities for all ages kicking off with the kids’ crafts fair from 10 o’clock, until noon, when Santa Claus arrives from the North Pole. The Jolly Ole Elf is planning to pose for photographs with the young ones, who’ll be whispering in his ear, what they expect him to bring on Christmas Eve.

The Burlingame Country Christmas Vendor Fair opens at 11 o’clock, and will offer a wide assortment of the most unique Christmas specials by exhibitors from throughout the eastern part of the state. A silent auction of baskets as a fundraiser will be open for bidding during the fair, too.

“The vendor fair has moved across the street to the well-lighted, well-heated and newly-decorated building,” Hecht said. “There will be food available there as well as at the remodeled community center.

“The Christmas Village is a collection of small buildings that will be on display through the windows of the bus barn, and where the crafts and photo sessions are planned,
Hecht said.

Of course, the Christmas on the Trail will have everyone in a most holiday spirit throughout the day, but toes will officially start tapping up and down the Old Santa Fe Trail Main Street when the live music show begins at 2 o’clock, and will continue until parade lineup time at 5 o’clock.

Always the most anticipated feature of a Burlingame Country Christmas is the Parade of Lights, attracting the broadest and widest array of participants from near and far, beginning with strike up of the band at precisely 6 o’clock. Assuring one of the best and biggest parades in recent history is the cash prizes to be awarded the top three parade entries.

“Please join us after the parade around the campfire for music, chili, s’mores for the kids, hot apple cider, coffee and hot chocolate,” Hecht said.

“All and all, it’ll be a full day for the Burlingame County Christmas, the Christmas on the Trail, so we hope everybody comes out for a most enjoyable time of food, entertainment and shopping,” Hecht expressed a special welcome.

With a population of about 1,000 residents, Burlingame, founded in 1854, is nestled in northern Osage County. By 1869, Burlingame served as the first link for the Santa Fe Railway from Topeka, as the depot passengers connected with the Overland Stage on the Santa Fe Trail.

“As you pass through the underpass on the east edge of town, you have reached the first point where the Santa Fe Railway crosses the Santa Fe Trail,” Hecht pointed out.

Many visitors to our still prosperous rural community are unaware, but by the 1870s, the area was also thriving in the coal mining industry, Hecht noted, as well.

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