Air Force base bringing spirit to community with festive holiday lane

by Siandhara Bonnet, Rapid City Journal

With COVID-19 restrictions in place, Black Hills Wire, the Ellsworth Board Authority and the Air Force Base itself are trying to bring the holidays to its base community.

Military community relations director Lynn Kendall said she had a conversation with the base and a mission support group about ways to bring holiday cheer to the base while social distancing and keeping peoples’ health at the forefront.

“We’re really excited to be able to do something and bring holiday cheer to the base,” Kendall said.

For the first time, the base will welcome Black Hills businesses to decorate signs and displays that will go on the base for a festive holiday “lane.”

The lane will be accessible to the 8,000 airmen and Department of Defense civilians and family members on base who can drive around the signs or walk past. Kendall said it will be like a reverse parade.

Businesses can decorate signs to make them look like holiday greeting cards, or they can turn them into three dimensional masterpieces with lights and movement.

The signs and displays will be up through New Year’s day and should be made to withstand South Dakota winters. Three-dimensional displays should not exceed five-by-five foot width or height, and displays must be anchored down through stakes or footers.

Signs and displays must promote inclusion and diversity, and any verbiage should be non-denominational with non-religious imagery.

Businesses can apply for a sign spot through the Black Hills Wire website.

Black Hills Wire will also try to make it feel like home through “A Home Away from Home” holiday meal program, depending on COVID-19. The program would connect airmen with local families for a holiday meal.