Every year, the Jonesburg Lighted Christmas Parade is an event that Paige Sellenriek marks on her calendar.

“This is my favorite night of the year because I’ve been helping with this since I was 12,” the Montgomery County High School senior said.

This year, Sellenriek not only got to enjoy watching the parade, but she was among 13 high school students who helped serve free food to the participants who braved the chilly conditions to watch the ceremony, which started at the St. Patrick’s Catholic Church parking lot and ended at Gladstone Avenue.

Chili, hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, soda and water were served after the parade at the Jonesburg Community Hall. Mariah Andres, Hannah Blake, Mariah Fish, Alexa Groeber, Autumn Hunter, Peyton McGough, Aaliyah Onofre, Cooper Sellenriek, Serenity Stokes, Dani Thomas, Levi Thurman and Hannah Toenges were the other students who served the food.

“We started planning for this before Halloween,” Paige Sellenriek said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s so worth it.”

Thomas served food at the Community Hall for the last three years.

“It’s fun because I get to see a lot of people I never met,” Thomas said. “At some point, I would get really busy. I think I can be pretty calm and help other people. I like seeing them be happy to get free stuff.”

The Jonesburg Lighted Christmas Parade, which is held on the first Friday of each month, wrapped up its 13th year. The event also included a visit from Santa Claus at a trailer next to the Community Hall, a petting zoo sponsored by Nick’s Barnyard Buddies and a bike giveaway.

A total of 120 bikes were given away to children. Thomas said she always enjoyed participating in the bike giveaway in the past.

“When I was a kid, I won five bikes,” she said.

The committee members include the Sellenriek family of Bob, Steve, Heath, Dixie and Roxanne, Joy and Joe Oden and Stacy Calbreath. Paige Sellenriek said her family always did an outstanding job running the Jonesburg parade every year.

“They worked crazy hard for this,” she said.