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Dayton Holiday Festival announces Grande Illumination activities

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By Lou Grieco, Staff Writer Updated 11:44 AM Tuesday, November 3, 2009

DAYTON — The Dayton Holiday Festival starts Friday, Nov. 27, with the Grande Illumination and Children’s Parade Spectacular in Lights.

The events, which will run from 4 to 9 p.m. at Courthouse Square, will include live musical entertainment, carnival rides and games, holiday crafts, horse-drawn wagon rides and a gingerbread house display. Most activities are free.

The parade, which debuted last year, will start at 7:45 p.m., after the tree lighting ceremony. The 45-minute parade will feature a variety of festive floats, entertainers, animals and several surprises. More than 100,000 lights will illuminate the floats and units.

The parade route will be West Second Street to Main Street, south on Main to Fourth Street, and then west on Fourth.

“The Grande Illumination & Dayton Children’s Parade Spectacular in Lights is a great night for the entire family to come downtown,” said Sandy Gudorf, president of the Downtown Dayton Partnership. “It is a magical night and is guaranteed to put you in the holiday spirit.”

The Dayton Holiday Festival is a month-long celebration that has been kindling the holiday spirit downtown for more than 35 years. It will continue through December with activities like the Family Movie Series at The Neon, the Tike’s Shop, Virginia Kettering’s Holiday Train Display, animated window displays and entertainment in the Schuster Center Wintergarden.

For more information about Dayton Holiday Festival activities, call (937) 224-1518 or visit www.downtowndayton.org.

Friday night’s activities include:

Live music at the Main Stage starting around 4 p.m. Groups scheduled to perform include the Reece Lincoln Band, Dancing Divas, the Schuster Center Children’s Choir and the Schuster Center Celebration Choir.
HollyLights on the Square, a colorful light show in Courthouse Square that will begin shortly after the Grande Illumination. The lights will “dance” in synchronization with classic holiday tunes. HollyLights on the Square will continue during scheduled hours until January 3.
The Gingerbread Homes for the Holidays Contest. Entries will be on display at the Old Court House on Friday. The top amateur and professional houses will each receive $500. Winners will be announced on the Main Stage before the tree lighting.
The Holiday Village will be in the Kettering Tower lobby. At Time Warner Cable’s “Dial-An-Elf” shop, kids can speak to one of Santa’s helpers and share their wish list. Kids can also make-and-take simple holiday crafts and play free carnival games.
The street fair on Third Street. Free rides will be set up on Third between Main and Ludlow streets.
There will be horse-drawn wagon rides from 4 to 8 p.m. Wagons will pick up passengers at the corner of Second and Main for a nostalgic ride through downtown. Rides are $1 per person.
Culture Works’ Sounds of the Season will featuring some of the area’s finest choirs. Performances will be at Fifth Third Center, 1 S. Main St., from 5:30 p.m. until the tree lighting.
The Tike’s Shop, where children can shop for their loved ones in a store that’s just their size, will be open from 3 to 9 p.m. Friday. The shop will be in the Schuster Center Wintergarden near the entrance at Ludlow and Second streets. It will feature Rike’s Animated Holiday Windows, on display in the Wintergarden. The Tike’s Shop will be open on selected dates through December 23. For specific times, call 430-1009.
The Holiday Hunt, a scavenger hunt run by the Junior League of Dayton, will run from 4 to 7 p.m. Each participant receives a map of participating merchants and a goody bag for collecting their treasures. Tickets are free but limited to the first 1,000 children.

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It doesn't look like any of the listed activities are Christ-centered, which might explain the use of the term "Holiday". After all, slapping the work "Christmas" on every little thing that happens near the end of the year really cheapens the word.

Kind of like all the fuss in past years re "Christmas sale" vs. "Holiday sale". Those folks who demand that it be called a "Christmas sale" only make it clear that they think shopping is the reason for the season.

Save "Christmas" for Christ.

Mark W
8:16 PM, 11/3/2009

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Veritas Splendor!

JP II
7:47 PM, 11/3/2009

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Happy Festivus!

Glus
6:41 PM, 11/3/2009

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MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL GOODNITE

SANTA CLAUS
3:01 PM, 11/3/2009

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This will be a nice event! I'm definitely going!