11/9/2009

Event includes premiere of Christmas lights

Downtown Natchitoches will kick off the holiday season during “Turn on the Holidays” on Saturday, Nov. 21.

“Turn on the Holidays” is an entire day of free family entertainment in downtown Natchitoches that will serve as the official start of the Festival of Lights season for the City of Natchitoches. The highlight of the event will be the official turning on of thousands of Christmas lights that illuminate the Natchitoches Historic District through the first week of January.

“Turn on the Holidays” is part of Louisiana Main to Main: A Cultural Road Show, which is designed to showcase the Louisiana Main Street Program and foster economic development for Louisiana Main Street communities. Throughout November, Main Street communities across the state will host various events and activities that promote cultural tourism.

Events in downtown Natchitoches begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 21 with a holiday concert featuring the Northwestern State University “Spirit of Northwestern” Marching Band. Other musical entertainment includes “barbershop style” holiday performances by River Cities Jubilee Chorus and a concert by the Shreveport Opera Xpress featuring popular opera arias, Broadway musical hits and Christmas classics. That evening, Josh Hyde and the Hitchhikers will perform blues, jazz and zydeco hits from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Shreveport Opera Xpress, the musical touring group of the Shreveport Opera, will provide a children’s opera performance of Little Red Riding Hood on the downtown riverbank stage. Children will laugh in delight at the hilarious retelling of this age old fairy tale. The audience will be entertained with opera classics while they enjoy the story of the sweet little girl and her witty grandmother.

Elaborate face painting by a magical fairy will also available to children, free of charge. After many years of kissing frogs, the Fairy Princess has failed to find her handsome prince. At her father's insistence she is now attending Sugar Plum Fairy University. Sugar Plum Fairies perform lovely dances in the dreams of children during the Christmas season to see what the children are dreaming about and tell Santa.

The Fairy Princess will be in Natchitoches on Nov. 21 to visit with and face paint the children who attend. She hopes to gather information for Santa and write a thesis for class, "Interacting with Children while they are Awake."

Children can also enjoy Christmas ornament painting in conjunction with the Natchitoches Art Guild and Gallery, Creole doll making with the Cane River Creole National Historical Park, the Natchitoches Parish Library Bookmobile, free caricature drawings, cultural food demonstrations and tasty sampling.

The evening will be capped off with the official lighting ceremony at 6:30 p.m. on the downtown stage immediately followed by a fireworks show over Cane River Lake. After the fireworks, music will continue until 8:30 p.m.

These events are free to the public. Sponsorship for these events was made possible by grants from the Natchitoches Historic District Development Commission and the Office of the Lt. Governor, Department of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism and the National Park Service Preserve America.

In conjunction with the Nov. 21 official kick-off, downtown merchants will sponsor their annual Holiday Open House. Downtown merchants will be open late to showcase their holiday merchandise including home décor, books, clothing, collectibles and various gift items.

“Turn on the Holidays” will kick off Natchitoches’ holiday season as the City prepares for the 83rd Annual Natchitoches Christmas Festival on Saturday, Dec. 5. The festival will feature an assortment of activities including a children’s parade, general parade, craft shows, children’s activities, music, food and a spectacular fireworks show.

For more information about “Turn on the Holidays”, call the Main Street Office at (318) 352-2746 or toll free (866) 941-MAIN. For more information about the Natchitoches Christmas Festival, visit www.christmasfestival.com.

For more information about Main to Main, please visit www.louisianamaintomain.org.