northcoastNOW.com

The spirit of the holiday season is beginning to show in Columbia, Grafton and LaGrange as the communities prepare for their annual holiday events.

Columbia

The second annual “Festival of Trees — A Merry Christmas to All” sponsored by the Columbia Chamber of Commerce will be held in the Columbia Township Park on state Route 82.

The official lighting of the trees will be at 5 p.m. Sunday. The trees and displays may be viewed until Jan. 3. According to Marnie Butler, Columbia Chamber of Commerce director of marketing and communications, the chamber took over the event after the Columbia’s Kiwanis disbanded. This is the second year that the Chamber has sponsored the winter event.

The chamber then decided to make it into the “Festival of Trees,” she explained.

And if a visitor spots a tree that is remarkable, they will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite decorated tree. Voting will be done at the event, and people can also continue to vote for their favorite tree online by visiting

www.columbiastation.com.

Santa will also be making a guest appearance, and light refreshments will be offered. New to this year’s festival are the Winter Wonderland of Caricatures, Butler said.

“The students from Columbia High School’s woodshop and art departments and Garland Griffin Homes made it possible to include the caricatures this year,” Butler said.

Grafton

The 30th annual Old Fashioned Christmas is rolling out of the station on Dec. 4 via the “Grafton Express.”

The event, co-sponsored by the Grafton Midview Business Association and the Village of Grafton, will be 5 to 9 p.m. Dec. 4 at various locations on Main Street.

“This year, we are using a train theme, like Polar Express, called ‘Grafton Express,’ ” GMBA president Janine McAlpin said. “We will have a real (retired) conductor and use special tickets.”

There will also be a model train on exhibit from Railblazers at Parsons Crossing. And, there will also be tours of the caboose and train tower (weather permitting). Other events include an exhibition of Siberian husky sled dogs and their talents, live entertainment performances, crafts, horse/wagon rides (donation of a canned food item), a karate demo by Darrell’s and outside food vendors will also be on hand to satisfy any cravings.

Santa will arrive at 5 p.m. at Sparkle as grade school children from Midview West Elementary School sing carols. Santa, who will make his way through town, will also be giving each child a bell.

The tree lighting ceremony will be at 6 p.m. at Water Tower Park as third-graders from Midview North Elementary perform.

LaGrange

LaGrange will kick off the holiday season with its annual Christmas on the Square from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Dec. 5.

The free family event will feature the tree lighting ceremony, a performance by the Keystone choir and Jazz Cats band members, crafts and refreshments. Santa will also be on hand to listen to wish lists. Visitors are encouraged to bring their cameras to photograph their children sitting on Santa’s lap.

Christmas on the Square was originally sponsored by the Civic Improvement League of LaGrange, but several years ago, KEEP (Keystone Education Endowment Program) stepped in to keep the family-orientated event from folding. KEEP provides scholarships and educational grants for Keystone students.

According to KEEP board president Ginny Valentik, Christmas on the Square is a great tradition to start with family and friends, and one that could not be continued if it wasn’t for the community members and various groups in LaGrange.

Visitors are asked to bring a canned food item or nonperishable food item for the LaGrange Lions Club food bank. Cash donations will also be accepted to help the food bank.