St. Joseph County 4H Fairgrounds hosts inaugural "Dasher's Drive-Thru"

ST. JOSEPH COUNTY, Ind.--- The St. Joseph County 4H Fairgrounds started its first ever "Dasher's Drive Thru" event tonight. The event goes from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. this weekend with the same hours next week from Friday through Sunday.

"It’s a Christmas light drive thru event," said Jennifer Millar, one of the St. Joseph County 4H Fair board members. "We’re very proud to have partnered with the AEP foundation to present this wonderful event for our community."

Organizers say this event came together after years of suggestions, but the pandemic made it become a reality.

"We’ve kind of talked about doing some kind of Christmas light drive thru for many years now," said Millar. "With the cancellation of the 2020 fair we had more time to think about it, I said 'Hey, let’s revisit this idea,'".

This years fair being canceled dealt a huge blow financially for the fairgrounds and organizers say they're glad to bring some holiday cheer this year.

"It’s been challenging," said Millar. "We have not been able to do other outside rentals that we normally do throughout the year, so we’ve gotten creative with fundraising,"

Although this event was started during a pandemic, officials hope it becomes a holiday staple for St. Joseph County for years to come.

"We are definitely hoping this becomes an annual tradition, that is our plan," said Millar. "We are expecting to grow and expand this next year. Come see us in five years we’re going to look totally different."

Dasher's Drive Thru is free to the public, but donations are encouraged. All proceeds will go to support the St. Joseph County 4H Fairgrounds.