Christmas tree lighting in Burr Park on Friday
Nov. 23—Dalton's Christmas season will officially start Friday at 6 p.m. with the lighting of the downtown Christmas tree at the Burr Performing Arts Park.
"We will have music and hot cocoa and cookies," said Downtown Dalton Development Authority Executive Director Candace Eaton. "It will be a lot of fun. So we hope people will come and hang out and take some photos and make some memories."
Burr Park hosted its first Christmas tree in 2019. The lighting ceremony was canceled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It returned in 2021, and Eaton said about 350 to 400 people attended.
"It's exciting to see so much going on downtown during the holiday season," she said, also mentioning this past Monday's Gratefull community Thanksgiving lunch. Organizers said more than 1,700 people attended that event.
The annual Dalton Christmas Parade will take place on Thursday, Dec. 1, at 6 p.m. following its familiar route as it starts near First Baptist Church of Dalton, travels east on Waugh Street, then south on Hamilton Street, right on Morris Street and onto Thornton Avenue.
The Dalton Noon Lions Club has been the parade sponsor since 1985. The parade is the organization's biggest fundraiser. Proceeds from entry fees are used for services to help the blind and visually impaired in this area.
