’Tis The Season

Cities set aglow as holiday celebrations begin

Downtown Fayetteville will be filled with colorful lights, kicked off by a parade Saturday.

The Fayetteville Unites With Holiday FAYETTEVILLE Lights parade will begin at 6 p.m. and is the start of the lighting of the square event. Between 5,000 and 7,000 people typically attend the parade, says Tanner Montgomery, visitors services manager at the Fayetteville Visitors Bureau. The organizers of the parade are students in the University of Arkansas hospitality department.

The parade will start at the Fayetteville Public Library, travel down Mountain Street, move around the square, then take Center Street to School Avenue and end at the library, Montgomery says.

The Fayetteville square will be aglow with about half a million lights, which will come on at 5 p.m.

every day through Dec. 31, Montgomery says.

Some of the lights that were at the Washington County Fairgrounds last year will be moving to the square this year, he adds.

The parade is one of the Lights of the Ozarks events, and additional activities will run through Dec. 31. Other activities that start on Saturday include camel rides, carriage rides, pony rides and vendors selling hot chocolate, coffee and apple cider, according to the Lights of the Ozarks website. Santa will be available for pictures on Saturday.

Santa and his reindeer will be on the square from 6 to 9 p.m. daily through Dec. 23, according to the website.

Gather in downtown Springdale on Nov. 24 for the 16th annual Christmas Parade of the Ozarks.

The parade is at 6 p.m., and the theme is “Candy SPRINGDALE Canes & Christmas Carols.” The event is put on by the Rodeo of the Ozarks.

Rick Culver, a Rodeo of the Ozarks Board member, says there will be floats and horses in the parade. He adds there are typically 50-70 floats involved. The three float categories are religious, commercial and holiday, according to the Rodeo of the Ozarks website.

Santa Claus will bring the parade to a close, according to the website.

Marching bands from Springdale schools willalso be part the parade, Culver says.

The parade will start at the rodeo grounds at the intersection of Emma Avenue and Arkansas 265. It will proceed on Emma through downtown Springdale.

The rain date for the parade is 6 p.m. Nov. 26.

Downtown Bentonville will be set aglow with lights Saturday evening, but activities throughout the day lead up to the lighting ceremony.

The Lighting of the Square will take place BENTONVILLE between 6 and 6:15 p.m.

Daniel Hintz, executive director of Downtown Bentonville Inc., says this is an all-day event, however. The rink at Lawrence Plaza will open at noon, and there will be free skating from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. While taking a break from skating, people can watch the Miss Winter Wonderland Pageant at 1 p.m. Hintz says the pageant determines the court for the Bentonville Christmas Parade, which is on Dec. 8.

Live music will begin at 4 p.m., and performers include the Walmart Associates Choir, Justin Hamby Quartet and the Arkansas Mass Gospel Choir, according to the Downtown Bentonville website.

The Christmas tree will be lighted at 6:45 p.m., Hintz says. He adds there is a menorah but it will not be lighted until Hanukkah.

Skating will begin again at 7:45 p.m., following an exhibition by the Arkansas Figure Skating Association from 7 to 7:30 p.m., he says. Hintz says it is a laid-back event, and many of the retailers and restaurants will be open throughout the day. At 4 p.m., there will be festival foods available for purchase on the square.

The final event of the evening will be a showing of “It’s A Wonderful Life” at 7:45 p.m. at Lawrence Plaza.

A month of holiday events will start Nov. 24 in Rogers. The Holiday Hoopla is designed to help the community enjoy the holiday season, says Dana Mather, events and communication coordinator at Main Street Rogers.

The kickoff day begins with Small Business Saturday, which includes businesses downtown holding open houses. The kickoff ceremony will be at 5 p.m., and part of the ceremony is the lighting by Mayor Greg Hines of the new Christmas tree, Mather says. The event is at the Frisco Stage, and the tree is south of the stage in Frisco Park.

“It’s going to be big and fun,” Mather says.

With a star on top, the Christmas tree will be 27 feet tall, she says. Santa will also arrive in downtown Rogers for the event and help the mayor light the tree.

“He’s going to arrive in some special, fantastic way that’s a big secret,” she adds.

During the event, School of Rock will play holiday music, and performers from Ballet Westside will dance as well. There will also be a few vendors selling snacks, hot chocolate and cider, and the downtown restaurants will be open.

Starting Nov. 29 every Thursday and Saturday through Christmas there will be activities going on. “Open Late ’til 8” will take place every Thursday, with downtown businesses open through 8 p.m. Ladies Shopping Night will be Dec. 6, the Ugly Sweater Contest will be Dec. 13, and Guys’ Shopping Night is Dec. 20, she says.

On Saturdays, Santa on the Caboose will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Children can visit with Santa at this event, which is located at the Frisco caboose at the corner of Walnut and First streets. The Rogers Christmas Parade will be Dec. 3. Mather says the kickoff and “Open Late ’til 8” are new events, and Main Street Rogers wanted to combine everything going on for the past few years and promote them all at once.

Whats Up, Pages 18 on 11/16/2012

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