The Natchitoches Christmas Festival (Festival of Lights) is held annually in

Natchitoches, Louisiana Natchitoches ( ; french: link=no, Les Natchitoches) is a small city and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was name ...

on the first weekend in December.

History

The

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

festival is expanded throughout the community each year but is centered on the historic district of Natchitoches. The festival is a major tourist attraction for the area, drawing an estimated 100,000 visitors annually. It can be difficult to find a hotel, pushing many visitors into neighboring cities such as Winnfield and

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

. Hotel prices can often jump into the hundreds for those who failed to make reservations. Front street, Jefferson, and Second Street constitute the main route of the Christmas Parade. The festival has been held the first Saturday in December since 1927, except 1941–44. This year's festival celebrates years of existence. The official premiere of the Festival occurs on the first Saturday of December. Events include an early afternoon parade, an arts & crafts show, food booths along the river front selling Louisiana cuisine, including the famous

Natchitoches meat pie The Natchitoches meat pie is a regional meat pie from northern Louisiana, United States. It is one of the official state foods of Louisiana. Ingredients Ingredients include ground beef, ground pork, onions, peppers, garlic, oil, and a pie shel ...

, live entertainment, and a spectacular evening fireworks show accompanied with music and a laser show. At the end of the fireworks display (the best in the State of Louisiana), the lights along

Cane River Cane River (''Rivière aux Cannes'') is a riverU.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 3, 2011 formed from a portion of the Red River that is located in Natchitoches Pa ...

are switched on – a display of 300,000+ lights and 100+ riverbank set pieces. The lights continue to brighten the Cane River until after New Year's Day. Country music singer Frank Foster was the Grand Marshal for 2013, appearing in the parade and giving a performance on December 7, along with the Northwestern State University Marching Band, several high school marching bands, dance teams from around Louisiana, the winners of local beauty pageants including Miss Merry Christmas and the Christmas Belles, and, of course, Santa Claus. Schools as far away as

Beaumont Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex ** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche * ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

, have been known to send their marching bands to participate in the parade. The Natchitoches Christmas Festival has appeared in several films, including '' Steel Magnolias'', set in Natchitoches. It is also a part of the Holiday Trail of Lights.

References

External links

The Official Natchitoches Christmas Festival Website

Natchitoches Christmas Festival

Holiday Trail of Lights
Tourist attractions in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana Natchitoches, Louisiana Festivals in Louisiana Christmas and holiday season parades {{US-festival-stub