Will this year's Maury County holiday season be its biggest yet?
Just about every week for the past month could arguably be considered the "start" of the holiday season, yet I think this week is when it really kicks into high gear.
It is the weekend after Thanksgiving, after all, and we all know what that means. For some, it is taking advantage of the Black Friday and Small Business Saturday sales, while for others it might be the traditional time to put up the family Christmas tree.
In Maury County, this weekend marks the beginning of so many upcoming events to be celebrated throughout December, and this year is set to be the biggest one yet.
For starters, we are a week away from seeing the return of the Columbia Main Street Christmas Parade and Night of Light tree lighting downtown on Saturday, Dec. 4. This will arguably be the biggest and best holiday event happening this year, combining two of the city's most well-attended events into one. This will certainly be a sight to see that you won't want to miss, especially after taking a year off due to COVID.
From what I've been told, this year's parade will feature close to 70 entries, which will include many returning participants, classic cars and other highly-decorated floats that will travel down a newly-paved West 7th Street (believe it or not), all leading to the downtown square.
The Factory of Columbia will also be hosting its first Christmas Black Tie Gala the day prior on Dec. 3.
Spring Hill's Kiwanis Christmas Parade is also set to return the following week on Saturday, Dec. 11 starting at 5 p.m. with the theme "Sounds of the Season." This year will feature a new route, which will begin at Evans Park and travel down Beechcroft Road and ending at Spring Hill Elementary School.
December is also a month when we get a First Fridays every week with Fa La La Fridays, which will include many holiday sales, live music and other activities occurring in and around the Columbia square every weekend.
The month will also be a great opportunity to visit Columbia's new Welcome Center located off North Main Street next to Columbia Police Department. Not only is this a cool new hub for local tourism, but a great spot to find out what'll be happening each week in the city.
The center is also teaming with the Building Block School for the Arts and Watershed Public Theatre to provide Storytime each Saturday starting at 11 a.m., which will not only include stories read to children, but will also feature many colorful characters that will wander around the square each week interacting with visitors and shoppers.
The month will wrap up with the return of the classic Mule Drop New Year's Eve ceremony on Dec. 31 hosted by Center of Hope, which is set to return to the square this year, which other than the Christmas Parade, is the largest holiday event to be a part of this year.
But more on that later. Right now, it's a time to enjoy the fact Columbia has so much to offer this holiday season, certainly a major step forward compared to last year.
What's important now is the opportunity to enjoy each week and each event as it happens. Even though the holiday season can be a stressful time for many, having so many options for fun stuff to do gives more reason to enjoy this time of year in our city. In my experience, you don't get that in a lot of places.
Jay Powell is a reporter for The Daily Herald. Contact him at jpowell@c-dh.net or follow him on Twitter @JayPowellCDH.
This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: Will this year's Maury County holiday season be its biggest yet?
