It started tonight with the official lighting of the Mayor’s Christmas Tree, which is on the north end of Bolivar Street overlooking the river. Free cookies, hot cider, and hot chocolate! Hot popcorn, too! The Helias High School choir sang, the regional head of the Rotary club spoke, and Mayor Landwehr gave a little speech, too, emphasizing the importance of the river to Jefferson City. And then the tree was lit up! Hooray!
There are more festivities, too. And they’re all free. Here’s the schedule.
Living Windows is tomorrow (Friday) night, 6:00–9:00 p.m. Downtown Jeff City is all duded up, and kids put on little vignettes or sing in the shop windows. More goodies are available. Stroll around and enjoy the wholesomeness of it all.
Candlelight tours of the Governor’s Mansion are also tomorrow night, 6:30–9:00 p.m. If you have never been in our state’s lovely Governor’s Mansion, this is a fabulous time to see it. The Christmas decorations are lovely and everyone’s in a jolly mood. A high school choir sings carols on the grand staircase, and docents are dressed in nineteenth-century costumes. And the governor and first lady are there to greet you personally. It’s really a pleasant thing to do.
To see pictures from last year’s Candlelight tours, click here.
Christkindelfest is on Saturday, Dec. 4, 9:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. The kaffeeklatch and bake sale is 9:30 – 11:00; the worship service, which includes the spirited singing of Esther Seidel and a rare and unusual German mass by “Silent Night” composer Franz Gruber, starts at 11:00; after the service (around noon) is a yummy lunch of Burger’s ham and other dishes; and at 1:00 p.m. Rev. Buchholz will lead a tour of the church.
For more information, see my earlier post about Christkindelfest.
The Jefferson City Christmas Parade is also on Saturday, starting at 4:30 p.m. It used to take place in the early afternoon, but they moved it to the evening so that the lights on all the floats would be prettier. And they are pretty!
To see pictures of some pictures from last year’s festivities, click here.
Thanks for the update on all of the Jefferson City happenings! For the early risers on Saturday, December 4, Grace Lutheran Church in Holts Summit will also be having a Christmas cookie sale. I believe it starts at 7:00 a.m. Just a short drive over the river, through the woods....
ReplyDeleteThanks for the note, Christy! I'm always amazed at how people manage to get so many of their Christmas cookies done in time for these early-December cookie sales.
ReplyDeleteI'm still out buying my candied citron and lemon peel!