Medina held a small parade, followed by fireworks, for the North Carolinian Helene survivors, on Saturday, Jan 11. Castle Noel, located in Medina, wanted to give the survivors a Christmas. To do so, the owners, Mark and Dana Klaus, planned “The Promise of Christmas.”

“The Promise of Christmas” was a weekend full of different activities and events, like the parade that was held. The parade consisted of a carriage being pulled by horses, the mayor of Medina, the Medina High School marching band along with their cheer team, and a truck giving out candy with a sign saying, “Welcome North Carolina Families!”

“We definitely felt like kids again, for sure,” said Marissa Sephler, one of the North Carolinian families watching the parade with her family.

To get the survivors to Medina, OH, Castle Noel got three buses to go to North Carolina to go and get the families. The buses left North Carolina early Friday morning and arrived that evening. After arriving at Medina, the survivors were able to attend a private reception at the White Birch Barn. 

“Well we came up last night, really late,” Sephler said.  “We left first thing in the morning; we left at 6:45 yesterday morning, and we got here at 5:30.” 

Along with planning a private reception and the parade, Castle Noel also made sure that the costs to get inside the Castle were free to the survivors.

“It gave me a better outlook on humanity,” said Alan Sephler, Marissa Sephler’s husband. “The people are so great.”