ENTERTAINMENT

Get ready for a busy holiday season

Jeff Barron
Reporter

LANCASTER - Get ready for the holiday season because there are lots of events scheduled in the Fairfield County area, including Small Business Saturday this week.

"It's the day for small businesses to celebrate shopping small and to invite everyone into their shop to shop for the holidays," Destination Downtown Lancaster program coordinator Leslee Hanson said. "This is the most participation that we've had in downtown. This year we have 19 businesses offering discounts."

She said the annual event is always successful, with some downtown merchants saying it's one of their biggest shopping days of the year.

"It is very crowded," Hanson said. "It's just really cool to see everyone downtown supporting the small shops and it really gives you that small-town feel of people walking and shopping. An old-time feel, of walking and shopping. It's really just a day to shop and enjoy downtown and kind of slow down a little bit."

The annual holiday festival parade kicked off the season Saturday and the events just keep coming, including the LancasterChorale's "In Dulci Jubilo" at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church at 4 p.m. Sunday.

The production will include Christmas carols and motets, with featured guest performances by organist Kevin Jones and the Lancaster Fairfield Youth Choir.

This marks the chorale's 30th season and first with new artistic director Stephen Caracciolo.

Following the LancasterChorale production will be Ohio University Lancaster's production of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" from Dec. 3-6. The Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows start at 7:30 p.m. and the Sunday show will be at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students, seniors and children.

There are several events set for Dec. 5, including "Simply Christmas in Lithopolis" at the Wagnalls Memorial Library. The day at the library will begin with breakfast with Santa from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m., followed by the Winchester Trail fifth-grade choir from Canal Winchester.

Those wanting to have their picture taken with Santa can do so from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. A canned food donation is requested for the photo, which will benefit families from the Bloom-Carroll and Canal Winchester school districts.

"Simply Christmas in Lithopolis" will also include the Lithopolis Children's Choir singing Christmas songs and a pet parade at 2 p.m. with pictures of Santa in Wilson Park.

Also on Dec. 5 is the Fairfield Association for the Education of Young Children's "Gift of Time." The 21st annual edition of the event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Lancaster High School.

The event will also include Day of Dental Care, hosted by the Lancaster-Fairfield Community Action Head Start with services provided by Nationwide Children's Hospital Dental Clinic and the Ohio State University school of dentistry.

For those wanting to start the busy Dec. 5 on a full stomach, the Kiwanis Club of Lancaster will have its annual pancake breakfast from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Lancaster High School.

Tickets can be purchased from any club member for $6 for adults and $2 for children under 10. Tickets are also available at the door, or by calling 740-653-4444.

Coffee, sausage, milk and juice will also be served; extra sausage, milk and juice may be purchased.

All proceeds benefit the local club’s youth and community services projects.

Dec. 5 is also the day of DDL's winter carnival, which will run from noon to 5 p.m. The carnival will feature horse-drawn wagon rides, music, free kids activities and more. The festival will conclude with the lighting the tree at the bandstand at Main and Broad streets.

"We all count down and we light up the tree and sing more carols," Hanson said. "There's free cookies and hot chocolate. Santa will also be there for picture opportunities. Just a really nice small-town kind of event. I actually had a lady call me about something else, and she told me she came to this last year and had tears in her eyes because it was just like a Hallmark movie."

The winter carnival will also feature Santa's house and will be open from noon to 4 p.m. every Saturday until Christmas.

The following day will find the Indiana Wesleyan University Chorale will perform at 6 p.m. at Faith Memorial Church at 2610 W. Fair Avenue in Lancaster. The 75-member choir is under the direction of Dr. Todd Guy and the concert is free. An offering will be taken to support the chorale's music ministry, however.

Call the church office at 740-654-1711 or visit www.faithmemorialchurch.org for more information.

Staying with church theme, the Fairfield Heritage Association will present its annual church tour at 6 p.m. on Dec. 12. Visit www.fairfieldheritage.org for more information.

Also, "An Old-Fashioned Christmas at Ohio Glass Museum" runs until Jan. 6 at the Ohio Glass Museum.

jbarron@lancastereaglegazette.com

740-681-4340

Twitter: @JeffDBarron