Christmas officially begins today in Southwest Louisiana with a slew of parades, fireworks, concerts and other festive events
to get residents in the spirit.
In Lake Charles, the annual Light up
the Lake celebration at the Civic Center will begin at 2 p.m. with a
parade through downtown
beginning on Bord du Lac Drive.
It will go down Broad Street, turn south on Ryan Street and end at Clarence Street.
Santa’s Workshop will be 3-5 p.m. in the Civic Center Exhibition Hall. Children will get to meet with Santa. There will be
games and prizes, and Mayor Randy Roach will read “’Twas the Night Before Christmas.”
The Community Band Christmas Concert
will be 4-5:15 p.m. in the Civic Center’s second-floor mezzanine. The
ceremony for the
lighting of the Civic Center grounds and the Lakefront Promenade
will be at 5:30 p.m. on the front lawn. The official “flipping
of the switch” will be at 6 p.m.
A block party will be 6-9 p.m. along
the Lakefront Promenade. It will include food vendors, face painting and
music by Boomerang.
The lighted boat parade will be at 6:30 p.m.; fireworks will go
off at 8 p.m.
In Sulphur, the Christmas Under the
Oaks festival will run 10 a.m.-10 p.m. in Heritage Square, with local
dance groups performing
in the morning and carnival rides opening at noon.
Children can have breakfast with Santa at 8:30 and 9:45 a.m. Tickets are $5, and seating is limited.
The Sulphur Kiwanis Christmas Balloon Parade is set for 3 p.m. and will travel down Cypress Street and end at Heritage Square.
The Festival of Lights, which includes
the lighting of the Christmas tree, will be at 6 p.m. Louisiana Express
will perform
4-5:30 p.m. and Bag of Donuts, 7-9 p.m. The Holiday House,
featuring more than 30 booths, will open 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Admission
is $5.
In DeQuincy, the Christmas at the
Railroad Museum continues today and will include thousand of exterior
lights, a laser show
and several trees on display. Also, the annual Taste of the
Holiday and Tour of Homes will begin at 4:30 p.m., followed by
a tasting at the JCE Center at 6 p.m. Tickets for the event are
$12 and can be purchased from the DeQuincy Civic Club. Call
274-3572 for information.
Starks’ annual parade is set for 2 p.m., beginning and ending at VFW Post 4759 on La. 12, with a Christmas gumbo to follow.
Jennings will host its annual gumbo cookoff at 4:30 p.m. A parade down Main Street will be at 5:30 p.m., followed by live
entertainment, a bonfire, and fireworks at 9 p.m. in the Louisiana Oil and Gas Park.
Winners of the annual gingerbread house contest will be announced at noon at the Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors
Bureau, 1205 North Lakeshore Drive.