by Martha Barksdale
and Mary Moore
Fayette will really begin to look a lot like Christmas this weekend, with tree lightings, home tours and other special holiday events scheduled throughout the county.
Fayetteville Main Street’s A Dickens Christmas Tree Lighting is this Saturday, Dec. 5, at 6 p.m.
The holiday celebration will take place at the gazebo in downtown Fayetteville and will feature free hot cocoa and popcorn, live entertainment from local recording artist Jason Bowen and the Whitewater Middle School Treble Chorus, and carriage rides with Santa. The Heritage Christian Church Dickens Village characters will be on hand to serve guests and offer kids the opportunity to make their own toy to take home.
Partnering with the Fayette Samaritans this year, Main Street is asking the community to bring nonperishable food items and canned goods to drop off in their Little Red Mill.
Guests are also invited to attend a pre-lighting Victorian Christmas Open House at the Holliday-Dorsey Fife Museum in Fayetteville from noon to 4 p.m., Saturday afternoon.
At the open house, families can learn the art of ornament making and goodies will be provided for children.
Elsewhere in Fayetteville, the First United Methodist Church will hold its annual Christmas Tour of Homes this Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 p. m. each day.
Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the church office on 170, E. Lanier Avenue until Friday at noon. All proceeds will go to Square Foot Ministries to complete the Fayette Counseling Center.
The little town of Brooks will host its second annual Christmas celebration this Sunday.
Festivities will begin with a Tour of Homes from 2 to 5 p.m. Tickets for the Tour are $10, and guests can purchase them on Sunday at Hardy Hall in downtown Brooks.
The Tour of Homes is sponsored by the Brooks Women’s Club and is the club’s biggest fundraiser of the year. All proceeds will go back into the community.
Following the home tour, the Brooks Tree Lighting and arrival of Santa will take place downtown at 5:30 p.m. The Brooks Elementary School chorus will perform, and free refreshments will be provided.
Tyrone will celebrate the season Friday with its annual Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration at Shamrock Park on Senoia Road.
The festivities will begin at 6 p.m. An old-fashioned sleigh with a top-hatted driver will be giving free rides around the lake.
Two of Santa’s elves will be on hand to do face painting and “Christmas hair,” getting the crowd in a festive mood. The Fayette Daybreak Rotary Club will provide cookies and hot chocolate.
Local school musicians, including the choruses from Burch and Tyrone elementaries and Flat Rock Middle School, along with the Flat Rock Middle School Band, will add to the festive atmosphere, leading up to the arrival of the big man himself and the lighting of the town Christmas tree at 8 p.m. Santa will then pose for photos and meet with his young fans.
On Saturday, Peachtree City’s Hometown Holiday includes a mix of holiday amusements, all done up in the city’s own inimitable style.
The festivities will begin at 5 p.m. at Shakerag Knoll and end around 9:30 p.m. with the lighting of the Christmas tree at City Hall.
Beginning at 5 p.m., children ages 2 to 10 can participate in a candy cane hunt in the woods at Shakerag Knoll. After the candy cane hunt, a program of holiday music and entertainment will begin at The Fred at 6 p.m. The evening will feature The Peachtree Wind Ensemble, The Twilight Theater, Legacy Theatre, Southern Nights Chorale and the Huddleston Elementary Chorus, as well as a sing-along to favorite carols and Christmas tunes.
Everyone attending the program at The Fred is urged to bring a new unwrapped toy for the Toys for Tots campaign.
After the program, the audience is encouraged to board their golf carts and travel up the trail of lights to City Hall for the tree lighting.
Santa will be on hand to visit with the children and pose for photos at the tree lighting, and Music Alive will perform holiday tunes.
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