Wednesday, November 28, 2001
|
Wednesday, November 28, 2001 |
|
Christmas activities get underway after Thanksgiving By MICHAEL
BOYLAN
The holiday season is underway and as Christmas draws closer, there are more and more seasonal activities taking place. This weekend will feature tree lightings, holiday concerts, a chance to meet and greet Santa Claus and more. Fayetteville's ninth annual Christmas tree lighting on Friday, Nov. 30 will officially mark the beginning of the Main Street holiday season. The public is invited to gather at Heritage Park, with festivities scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m. The traditional lighting of the Southwest Christian Hospice Tree of Light has special meaning. Each individual light represents a $15 donation in memory or in honor of a special loved one. All donations will benefit Southwest Christian Hospice. The event will kick off with performances by the choruses of Fayetteville Elementary School, Fayetteville Middle School and Southwest Christian Church "Praise Ensemble". There will be a brief "sing-a-long" which will culminate with the grand entrance of Santa Clause on horse drawn carriage. Mayor Ken Steele will perform the duties of master of ceremonies with the dedication of the Tree of Light performed by Mike Sorrow, Executive Director of Southwest Christian Hospice. A solo performance of O Holy Night will be performed by Dr. Ed Richardson, Southwest Christian Church. This year's honored guests performing the actual lighting of the tree will be Firefighter/EMT Kerry Cochran and Police Major Harrold Robbins. Coffee, hot chocolate and funnel cakes will be available to help warm you up during the ceremony. The fun will continue even after the tree is lit with Santa providing free carriage rides until 9 p.m. Photo packages will also be available for puchase. For further information about the Tree of Light and the ceremony, please call 770-461-6029. The following day children and their parents can have Breakfast with Santa. The Fayetteville Depot will be decked out in style and big and little kids will enjoy a Chick-Fil-a breakfast, orange juice, coffee and donuts. The Gingerbread Mom will be delighting kids old and young alike with stories and interactive fun. Make an ornament to take home, and purchase a Victorian style picture taken with Santa. Tickets are only $5 for children and $7 for adults, and are available at City Hall for 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. time slots. Call 770-461-6029 for information. Santa is also making a stop in Peachtree City. Santa will land in Braelinn Village Shopping Center in his helicopter. His live reindeer will also be on hand. Kids of all ages can tour the helicopter and drive the NASCAR simulator. The first 300 children who visit Santa will receive a free photo. There will be a D.J., a face painter and more. The Peachtree Wind Ensemple Community Band, a volunteer adult 45 piece orchestra based in Fayette County, will perform a one hour patriotic and holiday musical concert for the citizens and families of Fayette County at the Starr's Mills High School Duke Auditoriam Saturday night Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. This is an opportunity for our citizens to fill the auditorium, share their patriotic feelings and ring in the holidays with good cheer. Admission to the show will be one non-perishable food item which will be distributed at Christmas to those in need in Fayette County. The concert will be performed as a benefit for the widows, widowers, orphans and survivors of the attacks on New York and Washington. Donations can be made at the door. Checks should read, "Peachtree Wind Ensemble" with the statement "The Widows(ers) and Orphans Fund" entered on the memo line. For those who cannot attend but wish to make donations, please deliver your check and/or non-perishable food to Julie Shock, customer service officer at the Regions Bank branch on the corner of Peachtree Parkway and Crosstown Blvd. Another holiday concert will be presented Saturday evening as Tara Winds presents the 14th annual Music of the Season at the Clayton County Schools Performing Arts Center at 8 p.m. Admission is free. Phone 770-473-2875. Coweta County will also get into the Christmas spirit this weekend with a Christmas parade, "Light Up Senoia" through downtown, beginning at 5:30 p.m. A Candlelight Tour of Homes, sponsored by Newnan Hospital Auxiliary, runs from 4-9 p.m. Phone 770-254-8217 for ticket information. Also beginning this weekend in Coweta is Newnan Community Theatre's presentation of "A Christmas Carol." Phone 770-683-NCTC or visit http://newnantheatre.com for performance times and ticket information. |
